[Watch] Joe Root ends ends uncharacteristic knock with wild slog in 1st ENG vs NZ ODI

England's star batter Joe Root continued his lean patch of form in ODIs as he was dismissed for just six runs off 15 balls in the first ODI against New Zealand at Cardiff on Friday, September 8.

Having struggled to time the ball in his brief innings, Root tried to take down left-arm spinner Rachin Ravindra with a slog sweep. However, the ball held just enough in the surface and that led to Root only managing to hit the ball straight up in the air.

Daryl Mitchell completed a simple catch at deep mid-wicket to bring an end to a rather tame innings from Root. Here's a video of the dismissal:

---

Joe Root's form is a concern for England going into the World Cup

Joe Root was important to England's ODI World Cup win four years ago at home. However, he hasn't played as much ODI cricket with a massive tournament like the World Cup less than a month away.

Root has featured in just six ODIs since 2022 and has scored just 104 runs at an average of 17.33. Out of those 104 runs, 86 came in one innings against South Africa, which shows just how inconsistent the former England Test captain has been.

Root's form in the remainder of the series is something the team management could keep an eye on. Once Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow return, England could be in a position where they have to choose between Dawid Malan and Root for the No. 3 spot in their playing XI.

---

England XI: Dawid Malan, Harry Brook, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (c & wk), Liam Livingstone, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Gus Atkinson, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley.

New Zealand XI: Devon Conway, Will Young, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (c & wk), Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson.