Batting great grinds his way to 99 as India bowlers kept at bay

JOE ROOT turned his big sleep into a nap hand on the day England put the zzz into Bazzzball and the purists loved it.

- By Mike Walters

Teammate Mark Wood revealed on Test Match Special that Root missed a dinner appointment on Wednesday night because his siesta after net practice turned into a long slumber.

But England's top run-scorer was wide awake as he moved to the brink of his 37th Test century, and a record eighth at Lord's, to keep them afloat at 251-4 in the third Test against India.

If being stranded on 99 not out is the stuff of sleepless nights, Root need not worry. In all 17 instances of a player being one short of a century overnight in Test history, none has failed to turn it into three figures.

Dislodged at the top of the Test batting charts by Harry Brook last week, Root's knock is set to restore him to the No.1 spot after another masterclass of discipline and style.