The question buzzing around the Lord's pavilion during the rain‑marred third day of the second Test between England and Pakistan was simple yet unsettling: does England captain Joe Root have a genuine problem with leg‑before‑wicket dismissals? The answer, at least for the moment, appears to be yes. In the space of a single innings Root fell to the LBV twice, taking his total for the summer to seven and his tally in the last twelve Test innings to nine.
Such a pattern has prompted seasoned observers to wonder whether a player of Root's stature—over 160 Tests, a career average north of 50, and widely regarded as one of England's finest batsmen—can truly be vulnerable in this way. Sky Sports veteran Michael Atherton put the issue into perspective. He noted that even a cricketer with Root's pedigree can exhibit a developing weakness that opposition teams will seek to exploit.
Atherton also highlighted how the modern game has shifted away from the classic strategy of attacking the outside edge. In earlier eras bowlers often tried to move the ball away from the batsman, forcing a catch behind the slip cordon.
The prevailing wisdom was to play the ball on or just outside off‑stump, with the slip fielders ready to pounce on any thin edge. Today, however, the emphasis has moved toward the "wobble‑seam" delivery—a ball that lands on the seam and then deviates either way after pitching.
Bowlers now aim to get the ball to nip back into the right‑hander after initially moving away, creating a narrow corridor of safety that is difficult for a batsman to negotiate. This change has resulted in a noticeable rise in both LBW and bowled dismissals across the season, and Root has found himself squarely in the crosshairs of that trend. Atherton explained that the combination of a low‑bounce pitch at Lord's and the presence of a keeper who frequently moves up to the stumps against medium‑pace bowlers such as Matt Henry and Mohammad Abbas further compounds the problem.
When the keeper is up, the chance of an LBW increases because any ball that would otherwise be caught behind is now more likely to hit the pads in line with the stumps. Root's most recent dismissal in the second innings came at the hands of Pakistani pacer Mohammad Ali.
Ali delivered a ball that pitched on a good length, swung away from the right‑hander, and then, after missing the outside edge, bounced back sharply toward the stumps. The ball struck Root’s front pad in line with the wickets, and the umpire had no doubt. Nasser Hussain, another Sky analyst, argued that this pattern is no accident.
Bowlers are deliberately setting Root up with an outswinging delivery, forcing him to play at the outside edge. In doing so, he naturally moves his front foot across, creating a vulnerable pad‑in‑line position.
Hussain elaborated that the modern seam‑movement game forces even the best batsmen to make a compromise. When the ball is moving away, the instinct is to protect the edge by getting the bat out of the line of the ball. This often means the front pad drifts across the stumps.
If the bowler then employs a wobble‑seam that nips back in, the batsman has only a few inches—sometimes as little as four‑and‑a‑quarter inches—to keep the ball away from the pads. The margin is razor‑thin, and any slight mis‑judgment results in an LBW. The situation reminded Hussain of the tactics used by Australian bowler Terry Alderman against England’s Graham Gooch in the 1980s. Alderman would bowl a series of outswingers to force Gooch into a cross‑batting stance, then surprise him with a sharply moving ball that swung back in, forcing a change in technique.
Similarly, Root, at his best, prefers a straight‑line approach—playing with the ball either forward or back, staying close to the line of delivery. But the prevalence of outswing‑then‑wobble deliveries forces him to reach across, exposing his pads to the stumps. Low bounce also plays a part, especially on the historic Lord's surface, where the pitch can keep the ball close to the ground, making the stumps more accessible for LBW appeals. Bowlers are aware of this and often bowl a length that targets the base of the stumps, increasing the likelihood of a leg‑before‑wicket decision.
While criticism is easy, credit is due to the bowlers who have mastered this modern approach. England, New Zealand, and Pakistan have all produced seamers capable of swinging the ball away and then delivering a wobble‑seam that snaps back, creating a potent combination that tests even the most technically sound batsmen. Atherton summed up Root’s dilemma succinctly: if Root decides to eliminate the LBW threat by staying away from the line and opening up his play, he inevitably becomes more susceptible to edges and catches behind.
The balance between protecting the pads and guarding the edge is at the heart of the modern Test batting challenge, and Root’s current struggle exemplifies how delicate that equilibrium can be. As the series progresses, the cricketing world will watch closely to see whether Root can adapt his technique—perhaps by adjusting his footwork, playing a slightly more upright stance, or altering his shot selection—to mitigate the LBW risk without inviting a flood of edges. The answer will not only affect his personal statistics but also offer insight into how elite batsmen can evolve in response to the ever‑changing tactics of contemporary seam bowling.