Ashes 2023: 'Eat. Sleep. Ramp. Repeat', Twitter reacts as Joe Root slams 30th Test ton on Day 1 at Edgbaston

Joe Root was off to a spectacular start in the 2023 Ashes, slamming his 30th Test hundred on the opening day of the first Test against Australia in Birmingham on Friday.

Root smashed seven fours and four sixes in an attacking knock, forging a 121-run sixth-wicket partnership with wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow and helping England amass nearly 400 runs on the opening day.

His counterattack helped the Englishmen recover after they were reduced to 176/5 at one stage, and did not shy away from going for unorthodox shots, among them a series of reverse sweeps.

The former England captain would reach the milestone with a single in the evening session, taking 145 deliveries to bring up the three-figure mark and would smash veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon for two sixes in a 20-run over not long after. It would be his first Ashes hundred since his 130 at Trent Bridge in 2015.

Not only did the Edgbaston crowd go, “Rooooooot!” after the senior batter brought up his 100 and took off his helmet in celebration, it also led to a deluge of congratulatory messages and admiration on social media.

Here are select reactions to Root’s majestic knock: