5 Batsmen who are likely to reach new heights in 2019

#4 Joe Root

Joe Root finally managed to end the century drought in the second half of 2018

The English captain Joe Root is often categorized along with Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson and Steve Smith as the four best batsmen of the current generation. However, Root, in terms of stats has been falling behind these three contemporaries of his.

This can partly be attributed to him playing most of his cricket in difficult batting conditions of England but an equally big reason has been his inability to turn half-centuries into hundreds. As a result, he has been left some distance behind by the likes of Kohli and Smith in terms of Test tons.

But in the second half of 2018, Root broke his century drought with a hundred against India in the final Test of the English summer and then played what many experts described as the best innings of his career in Sri Lanka.

Now that the mental block that seemed to prevent him from getting centuries is out of the way, the route may be clear for Root to open the floodgates of his scoring prowess. If he gets a better conversion rate for himself, the sky is the limit for the English Test captain.

With a series in West Indies to be played at the start of the year and the big Ashes contest scheduled later, this could well be the year when Root not only catches up with his main rivals but also leaves them behind.