David Warner took a dig at Joe Root's vulnerability against in swinging deliveries. (AP)Former Australian cricketer David Warner took a dig at the World No. 1 Test batter, England’s Joe Root’s for his batting record Down Under. An entertaining Australian summer awaits the high-octane five-match Test series as England will tour arch-rivals Australia for the famous Ashes series, scheduled for the end of the year.
Speaking about Root, who has never scored a century in Australia, Warner told BBC Sport: “The big anchor there is Rooty, who is yet to score a hundred in Australia.”
“Josh Hazlewood tends to have his number quite a lot. He’ll have to take the surfboard off his front leg,” Warner added, referencing Root’s vulnerability to inswingers that often trap him lbw.
Root has been dismissed 10 times in 18 Tests by Australia seamer Josh Hazlewood, one fewer than the 11 times he has been dismissed by Australia captain Pat Cummins and India bowler Jasprit Bumrah. “It all comes down to the bowlers. If England’s attack can dent Australia’s top order, they’ll be in the contest,” Warner noted.
Former England bowler Stuart Broad has since responded to Warner’s jibe, saying “I’ve never heard England’s best ever batters front pad called a Surfboard. Just for clarity. Hazelwood has got Rooty LBW in Test Cricket 3 times. Three.”
I’ve never heard England’s best ever batters front pad called a Surfboard 😂😂
Just for clarity. Hazelwood has got Rooty LBW in Test Cricket 3 times. Three. https://t.co/HZc7hojQHi— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) August 2, 2025
Warner, who retired from international cricket last year, is set to make his Hundred debut with the London Spirit in the tournament opener against Oval Invincibles on Tuesday.
England, who haven’t won the Ashes in a decade, will look to break that streak when they tour Australia from late November.
Root recently went past Sachin Tendulkar and took second place in the list of batters with the most runs in Test matches played at home. Root’s tally at home went to 7224 runs, while Tendulkar had scored 7216. The only player above Joe Root is Australia great Ricky Ponting, who had scored 7578 runs in Tests played at home.
It is an interesting reversal of the big record that Root got closer to at Old Trafford during the fourth Test. Root had gone past Ricky Ponting’s career tally of Test runs to sit second in the list of highest run scorers of all time in the longest format. The only player above him, quite famously, is Sachin Tendulkar who had scored 15,921 runs in his prolific career of 200 Tests.
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