25 February 2023 , 08:45
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Joe Root has admitted that batting with Harry Brook made his "life a lot easier" as he returned to form with a brilliant unbeaten 153 against New Zealand.
Root shared a mammoth partnership worth 302 runs alongside Brook, England's third-highest fourth wicket stand ever behind the 411 Peter May and Colin Cowdrey scored against the West Indies in 1957 and the 310 Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen scored against Australia in 2006.
Brook blasted a mesmerising 186 off 176 balls, his fourth century in just six Tests, while Root's hundred was his first in eight Tests, his longest run without a century in over two years.
Root had spoken ahead of this Test about struggling to "find out what my role is" in a much more positive and aggressive England batting line-up under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.
And the 32-year-old believes he benefitted from batting alongside Brook, who has enjoyed such a stunning start to his Test career. "I certainly felt like I found a way to manage the situation in this game," Root told BT Sport.
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"Going out there at the time I did, it was important I found a way to calm things down and wrestle a bit of momentum back in our favour. When you're batting at the other end to Brooky at the moment, he's making your life a lot easier.
Root and Brook's stand is England's third-highest fourth wicket partnership ever (MARTY MELVILLE/AFP via Getty Images)"It was quite nice to bounce off him and I think we managed to restore that calmness to the dressing room. It was the kind of wicket where you never really feel like you're playing at your absolute best and really free-flowing but I felt like I had that bit between my teeth."
And Brook was full of praise for Root, stating he was back to the "Joe Root everyone knows and loves". Brook told reporters: "He's unbelievable to bat with.
"It became a perfect partnership, really. Joe struggled a bit at the start and couldn't quite middle anything but, as he got into his innings, he was the Joe Root everyone knows and loves."