The headline in The West Australian didn’t waste any ink. As Joe Root landed for yet another Ashes tour, the local paper greeted one of Test cricket’s great modern run-machines with a two-word sledge: “Average Joe.”
Strip away the provocation, and the numbers explain why Australia still feels it can needle him. Root arrives as one of the top three run-scorers in Test history - 13,543 runs at an average of 51.29 with 39 centuries - yet one country that obsesses over Ashes legacy more than any other is still the one place where he has never made a Test hundred and never won a Test.
Global Giant, Australian glitch
Root’s career is absurdly good. But put Australia as a filter, and the shine dips:
Against Australia overall, Joe Root has scored 2,428 runs at an average of 40.46. However, when we see his performance in Australia, he has scored 892 runs at an average of 35.68 with nine fifties, a best score of 89, and zero hundreds. For a batter whose career 50 to 100 conversion is over a third, going 0-from-9 in fifty-plus scores, there is not a small red flag; it’s a neon sign.
The performance of Root across countries makes it uglier. At home in England, Root averages above 56. In New Zealand, he averages over 50; in India, his average is in the mid-40s. Only in Australia does his away average sit in the mid-30s - the one major Test nation where he looks mortal, not mythical.
Why Australia still has a hold on him
{{/usCountry}}The performance of Root across countries makes it uglier. At home in England, Root averages above 56. In New Zealand, he averages over 50; in India, his average is in the mid-40s. Only in Australia does his away average sit in the mid-30s - the one major Test nation where he looks mortal, not mythical.
Why Australia still has a hold on him
{{/usCountry}}Aussie voices are loving it, obviously. Rodney Hogg has already labelled Root “England’s weakness”, saying his trademark glide in the corridor is perfect for nicking off on true, bounce decks. Three Ashes tours, 0 wins, 12 defeats, 2 draws in Australia add weight to the sledge. Root keeps getting in, keeps getting stuck in the 60-89 zone, and keeps watching Australians cash in at the other end.
Is it technique, conditions, or just mental baggage? Or is it everything together? But this 2025-26 Ashes is basically a final viva for his legacy. The all-time numbers already put him in the Tendulkar-Ponting neighbourhood. If he finally nails a couple of big Hundreds in Australia, “Average Joe” will go down as one of those dumb pre-series headlines fans laugh about for years. If he doesn’t, the most decorated English batter of this generation will retire with one very specific asterisk: everywhere else, an icon, in Australia, forever “average”.