Joe Root honoured for ‘getting punched’ by David Warner: Australian media

Joe Root was punched by David Warner during ICC Champions Trophy.

Sydney: Apr 11, 2014

England batsman Joe Root was formally recognised by the respected Wisden’s Almanac as one of the “Five Cricketers of the Year” for getting punched by Australian batsman David Warner last year, according to a report.

According to News.com.au, Warner’s punching of the baby-faced Root during the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 was undoubtedly a “forward-thinking masterstroke”, adding that England loved it when Warner was suspended from the summer Ashes opener. Stating that Wisden, which is incidentally British, could not have given Root the honour for anything else, the report disparages his batting, saying that in 2013, Root’s best batting average of 34.48 spreads across the large sample size of 14 Tests, adding that he averaged 37 in the summer Ashes.

The report further said that the “pointy heads” at Wisden named Root as one of the world’s five best cricketers on the back of his 180 in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s, adding that the likes of Michael Clarke, Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Broad, AB de Villiers were forgotten by the edition despite their tremendous contributions recently. The report also said that Wisden does not actually recognise the best players of the year, it simply glorifies performances from the previous English summer, adding that Root’s award shows it can be a book that sometimes makes no sense.