What's new

Joe Root steps down as England Men's Test Captain

MenInG

MenInG

PakPassion Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 2, 2004
Runs
217,977
Joe Root has today stepped down as England Men's Test Captain.

Root holds the record for the most number of matches and wins as England men's test captain. His 27 victories put him ahead of Michael Vaughan (26), Sir Alastair Cook, and Sir Andrew Strauss (24 each).

After being appointed as Sir Alastair Cook's successor in 2017, Root led the side to a number of famous series victories, including a 4-1 home series win over India in 2018 and a 3-1 triumph away to South Africa in 2020. In 2018 he became the first England Men's Captain to win a Test series in Sri Lanka since 2001, a feat he went on to repeat with a 2-0 victory in Sri Lanka in 2021.

He is already England’s second highest Test run scorer of all time behind only Cook and scored 14 centuries as Captain. His tally of 5,295 runs as skipper is the highest by any England captain and puts him 5th in the all-time list behind only Graeme Smith, Alan Border, Ricky Ponting and Virat Kohli.

Joe Root, said, “After returning from the Caribbean tour and having time to reflect, I have decided to step down as England Men’s Test Captain. It has been the most challenging decision I have had to make in my career but having discussed this with my family and those closest to me; I know the timing is right.

"I am immensely proud to have captained my country and will look back on the past five years with enormous pride. It has been an honour to have done the job and to have been a custodian of what is the pinnacle of English cricket.

"I have loved leading my country, but recently it's hit home how much of a toll it has taken on me and the impact it has had on me away from the game.

"I want to take this opportunity to thank my family, Carrie, Alfred and Bella, who have lived it all with me and been incredible pillars of love and support throughout. All of the players, coaches and support staff that have helped me during my tenure. It has been a great privilege to have been with them on this journey.

"I would also like to thank all the England supporters for their unwavering support. We are lucky to have the best fans in the world, and wherever we play, that positivity is something we always cherish and admire, which is a huge drive for all of us out there.

"I am excited to continue representing the Three Lions and producing performances that will enable the team to succeed. I look forward to helping the next captain, my teammates and coaches in whatever way I can."

Tom Harrison, ECB Chief Executive Officer said, “Joe has been an exceptional role model during his tenure, balancing the demands of Test captaincy whilst continuing to shine brilliantly through his own personal performances. He has led by example, and that has resulted in more Test wins than any other England captain, alongside a number of famous series home and away victories.

“Joe’s leadership qualities were exemplified by how he led the team through some of the most difficult and uncertain times we have known, playing during the pandemic all over the world, which speaks volumes for him as a leader and as a person.

“I know that every single person who has played or worked under Joe’s captaincy will speak of his integrity and humility as a person, as much as his determination and example as a leader.

“Off the field, Joe has been no different. It has been a privilege and a huge pleasure to have worked with him in his capacity as our Test Captain, and I know he’ll continue to drive English cricket forward as a senior player, offering his wealth of experience and advice to support his successor.”
 
Stokes is injured 70% throughout the year, no real point in appointing him as an alternative.

England should go with a long term option like Dan Lawrence or Zack Crawley
 
Had to happen.

He's lost the dressing room and England's record recently in Tests has been horrendous.

Time to move on.
 
Question is who takes over

Stokes is generally injured

No other names fall into the hat

Had Moeen Ali not retired you never know he may have stood a chance
 
Former England captains Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain believe Ben Stokes is the "obvious" candidate to take on the role following Joe Root's resignation as Test skipper.

Root announced his resignation on Friday after a series defeat in the West Indies last month left England with just one win from their last 17 Tests.

Stokes, who served as vice-captain under Root, is the favourite to take on the role, but as recently as January said he had "never really had an ambition" to be skipper.

The 30-year-old took a six-month break from cricket last year to rest an injured finger and prioritise his mental wellbeing, before returning to play in England's tours of Australia and the West Indies.

Stuart Broad, 35, has been touted as a short-term option for the role, despite having been selected for just three of England's five Ashes Tests in Australia and omitted from the squad for the tour of the West Indies.

Atherton, who captained England from 1993 to 1998, believes that Root's decision to stand down rather than be sacked as skipper will make Stokes more comfortable with taking on the role.

You've got to pick somebody who is worth his place in the side. I think the days are long gone where you could have a Mike Brearley-type figure, who wouldn't necessarily be a first-choice pick. Just because of the scrutiny, you need to be worth your place in the side, so Ben Stokes is the obvious candidate.

I think what helps is that Joe Root has stepped down of his own accord. The one great defining characteristic of Ben Stokes is loyalty, and he's very loyal to Joe Root as his number two, and very good friends with him. He will feel a lot easier about accepting the job, if indeed it comes his way, given that Root has stepped down of his own accord rather than been pushed out of the door. I think that helps the accession for Stokes if it comes.

Former England captain Michael Atherton says Stokes appears to be the obvious candidate to replace Root.

One of the great things about Joe Root is the way that he kept his own personal form up under the scrutiny and under the pressure and the demands of captaincy. He's a world class player, he's one of England's greatest ever batters and he kept his own personal performances - even during the dog days of 2021 when the team was sliding to defeat after defeat - his personal performances were outstanding.

Whether Ben Stokes, if it comes his way, can do that is an unknown. It didn't sit well with other all-rounders that have come before him like (Ian) Botham and (Andrew) Flintoff, but that's not to say that it won't sit well with him, but you just never quite know until you have a go.

There was very clearly, after the 2015 World Cup in Australia, a desire to put England's white-ball cricket on a better footing, and that has had some kind of an impact on the Test team, and obviously Covid has impacted that as well - that's been a double whammy and it's led to a schedule that is frankly unsustainable.

Joe Root can't be held responsible for those things - as a captain you're really responsibly for what happens under your watch with the team, and there were lots of things happening in Australia and lately where they were not getting it right. They were not getting it right with selection, decisions on the toss and strategy on the field.

All those things you can lay at the captain's door, but what you can't lay at the captain's door is the structure of English cricket, the schedules, the state of the first-class game, the way that the governing body has not looked after and cared for first-class cricket, which has meant you're not getting the level and quality of players through to the Test team.

Hussain, who captained England from 1999-2003, says Broad would be a viable short-term option in the event Stokes didn't want to become skipper.

For me the obvious candidate is Ben Stokes. People say, 'Oh, Ben Stokes', do you know what happened to Flintoff and Botham? Ben Stokes is not Flintoff and he's not Botham, don't judge him by how other people have done.

Stokes has done some phenomenal things as a cricketer and has a very smart cricket brain. He showed that in the World Cup final, he showed that at Headingley, the way he works through difficult times. He showed that when he's taken over occasionally from Joe Root.

Former England captain Nasser Hussain says Ben Stokes is the best option to replace Root as captain.
The difficult thing for Stokes is the point I made about the toll it takes on you as a captain. You have to be in the right place mentally and physically.

Obviously, Ben's been through some issues mentally off the field of late, and if I was the new managing director of cricket, the very first journey I would be making would be to go and have a cup of coffee with Ben and ask him where he is with his game, with his life away from his game to make sure he's in the right place.

From what I see, the players hang on every word Stokes says in that dressing room. He doesn't even have to say anything, and they look in his direction to see his reaction. He's so well respected in that dressing room and Root would love playing under Stokes. Root is the sort of guy would play under anyone, but Root would give his everything for Stokes.

If Stokes is not in the right place, then short-term Stuart Broad has an excellent cricket brain, is a real fighter, a real competitor, and he's got a point to prove after what's happened in the last few months and we know what Broad is like when he's got a point to prove.

Pat Cummins has led Australia as a bowler brilliantly, so in the short term, I can see Broad doing a similar thing.

There are not that many candidates, the other option is to go outside the side and go down the Graeme Smith route that South Africa did, go outside the side and look in county cricket, but for me Stokes and Broad stand out.

Compton: Broad has experience and winning mentality

Former England batter Nick Compton says he would insert Broad as captain with a view to Stokes taking on the role in future.

The important thing is that whoever is captain makes the team. Any talk of players who haven't earned their stripes in the team, I don't think is helpful. The guy that I put forward is Stuart Broad, I think he's the right man in this difficult phase.

He has the experience and that winning mentality. He's perhaps in the twilight of his career; he's seen a lot and he's been through a lot and in the last year or so. We've seen a guy who has upped his own game, along with Jimmy Anderson.

He's the type of guy who could come together with the new coach and put down a marker for how this England team needs to move forwards. He potentially won't be there for a long period of time, but I think he's the right man.

The one thing you can say about Stuart Broad, is when you need him, he stepped up. There's no doubt about that.

I think Ben would be an outstanding leader. He's clearly been an excellent support to Joe Root, he's an outstanding player and he makes the team, which is important.

I think he's had a lot on his plate recently, he was out and probably rushed back into the Ashes a little bit too quickly. He's finding his feet again. We need Ben Stokes performing on all levels; bowling, batting and being the brilliant fielder that he is.

I think it's a little bit early right now. I would like to see Ben go out there and just keep performing for England, get himself in a good place because we know when his mind is on it, he's arguably one of the best cricketers in the world.

I don't think it's the right time for him to take on this responsibility.

Skycricket
 
I feel sad for Joe, but I have been calling for this for a while now and it is the honourable thing to do. It is also the right decision for everyone concerned, including Joe himself.


Options then?

Short term: Bairstow or Broad

Long term: Lawrence or Crawley

Dark horse: Foakes
 
Sensible decision on his part. He was rudderless as captain despite having the job for 5 years, and England only regressed under his captaincy instead of improving.

To be fairly honest, I was waiting for ECB to sack him because England have won only 1 out of their last 17 tests. Better for him to focus on his batting because he is at his peak right now, and you never know how long that will last.

Stokes should take over as captain and Stuart Broad should be the vice-captain.
 
Broad seems like a good interim option. He picks himself in first XI, he's aggressive and being one format player will help him focus on tests only.
 
Good move.

Team wasn't going anywhere under him.

Better to regroup under a new leader.
 
0ZQUq7r.png
 
Joe Root has captained England as often as any other man in the history of Test cricket.

Root has recorded more wins as skipper than any of his compatriots (27) but also suffered more defeats (26) and has not yet overseen victory in an Ashes series.

He scored more runs in a calendar year in 2021 than any Englishman ever, yet England lost a record-equalling number of Tests. The paradoxes go on.

After the Yorkshireman announced on Good Friday he was stepping down from the England Test captaincy, we look back at some of the highs and lows...

The highs

South Africa in 2017 - a flying start

Root enjoyed instant success as skipper, both personally and results-wise, after succeeding Sir Alastair Cook in the wake of a drubbing in India. A score of 190 on his captaincy debut - the first Test against South Africa at Lord's in the summer of 2017 - was the highest of six centuries scored by England captains in their first match in the job. Although he remarked in trademark dry style after a heavy second Test defeat - and a spat with predecessor-turned-pundit Michael Vaughan - that his honeymoon period had been short-lived, back-to-back wins in the remaining Tests gave England a 3-1 series victory. Root finished with 461 runs - 131 more than his nearest challenger on either side - at an average of 57.62. So far, so excellent.


The feelgood home hammering of India

The optimism of Root's first summer in charge had been obliterated by a one-sided Ashes tour, defeat in New Zealand and failure to put away Pakistan at home in the early summer schedule. So when Virat Kohli and his top-ranked India side fetched up for a five-Test series in 2018, determined to put up a better show than their recent predecessors had managed in English conditions, home expectations were not exactly high. Despite Kohli's individual brilliance, England edged a classic Edgbaston opener and recovered from a mid-series hammering in Nottingham to run out 4-1 winners. Root's own form with the bat fell short of his impeccable standards, but a hundred in the final Test added to the general air of euphoria engendered by Cook's career-ending ton - predicted by his skipper on the eve of the game - and Jimmy Anderson becoming Test cricket's most prolific pace bowler.


History made in Sri Lanka

Home victories are one thing, but success on the subcontinent is another altogether, and Root had plenty to prove overseas given his away captaincy record ahead of the 2018 Sri Lanka tour read: P7 W0 D2 L5. The inclusion of Ben Foakes and persistence with the maligned Keaton Jennings paid handsome dividends in the first of a three-match series as both scored hundreds in a big win. Root joined the party with an aggressive ton at a key point in the series-clinching second Test, and the rotation of old-stager seamers and a motley crew of spinners was managed with assurance as the skipper became the first Englishman in 55 years to secure a whitewash abroad in a series of three matches or more. "We are not a one-trick pony in our own conditions anymore and that should fill us with a huge amount of confidence going into future tours," said Root - whose tourists were promptly beaten in the West Indies.


Toughing it out alongside Silverwood in South Africa

Root's back was once again firmly against the wall, the Sri Lanka series a distant memory on the back of failure to regain the Ashes at home in the summer of 2019, before the start of his first tour in tandem with new coach Chris Silverwood at the end of the year. A flu bug which ran through the squad like the Aussies through an England tail did nothing to quell the outside noise as the first Test at Centurion ended in defeat. But despite losing Anderson to injury after the second Test, coach and captain coaxed performances from comparative newcomers and stalwarts alike, Ollie Pope, Dom Bess, Mark Wood and - in spite of his father's health problems - Ben Stokes all contributing heavily to three straight victories and a 3-1 series win. No ton for Root on this occasion, although he did take four wickets while bowling almost a third of England's overs during the final innings of the third Test. "The sky's the limit for this team," was his post-series verdict.


The lows

Failing to land an Ashes blow in 2017

More-heralded captains than Root have gone to Australia and lost, and as ever there were mitigating circumstances to a 4-0 defeat: Ben Stokes' off-field problems deprived the skipper of perhaps his one weapon capable of persuading the Aussies to take a backward step, and the build-up to the first Test was dominated by talk of Jonny Bairstow's 'headbutt'/'friendly greeting' to Cameron Bancroft in a Perth bar - the kind of media-enhanced storm-in-a-schooner Down Under which can nonetheless provide unnecessary distraction for touring Englishmen. But the lack of any real competitive edge to the series, give or take an hour or two under lights in Adelaide and a draw on an MCG featherbed, was dispiriting after Root's captaincy had begun with back-to-back series wins. The skipper was not even there to see out the series, having been hospitalised while unbeaten on 58 ahead of the final day of the Sydney Test.


Folding in India after fine start

Aside from the meek surrender in, admittedly, some of the most challenging conditions Test cricket can offer, the real disappointment of a 3-1 defeat in India last year was how far below England's recent standards it fell. Root had overseen four straight series wins ahead of the tour, an achievement last managed by the peak-era Andrew Strauss team of 2011. Five straight Test-match wins overseas, meanwhile, was a feat no England side had managed in the previous 100 years until Root's lot did just that, adding a sixth in the opener against India thanks in no small measure to their captain's double hundred - a seamless continuation of his form in the previous series against Sri Lanka. But that accounted for comfortably more than half his series runs, and despite being able to call on an attack of no little variety, his own remarkable 5-8 in the second of three subsequent maulings at the expert hands of Ravichandran Ashwin and Co was more eye-catching than anything he could squeeze from his team-mates in the field. England had opportunities in two of those three matches, and Root said: "I do think there have been periods where we've found ourselves at parity and India managed to grab them." The theme would recur...

The opportunity for Root and England to exact revenge was quick, but morale was hardly helped by defeat to New Zealand in the two-match support act to last summer's main event, nor by Stokes' announcement a few days before the first Test he was taking an indefinite break. Root's stunning year with the bat offered a counterpoint to the negatives, and he duly obliged with tons in three successive Tests to start the series. England won just one of them, an innings victory at Headingley after rain had wrecked hopes of a result in the first, and India had skittled their hosts to take the second. Rohit Sharma's hundred and a devastating final-day Jasprit Bumrah spell gave them the fourth and a 2-1 lead which proved to be decisive - at least until the rescheduled game has been played this summer - after Covid scuppered the Old Trafford finale. Root was again left to highlight to his players the small margins and big moments had all gone in India's favour: "Something we've got to get better at is recognising the key moments in games and forcing it a little bit more," he said, through increasingly gritted teeth.


Abject Ashes - 'why are you captain?'

Root was back on familiar territory ahead of a second Ashes tour as skipper which he freely admitted would define his captaincy: "I'm not naïve enough to think it won't... Grabbing those big moments within the series, I think, is going to be key for us." To his and England's embarrassment, they barely even got to the "big moment" stage as the Ashes were secured by Australia inside 12 days of cricket - a shorter time than the tourists spent quarantining for the series. There were signs of the even-tempered captain's patience wearing thin as he dared to criticise his grizzled bowlers' lengths after the second Test, but even this was seized on by his critics as a sign of weakness. "Why are you captain then?" asked Ricky Ponting, who later labelled England the worst-performing tourists he had ever seen in Australia. Even allowing for the home hyperbole which has become as much a part of Ashes tours as Aussie victory parades, it was hard to put up much of an argument. England avoided the dreaded 5-0 sweep with a battling, if weather-assisted, draw in Sydney but did lose 4-0. That chastening result confirmed when they lost 10 second-innings wickets for just 56 runs on the third day of the final Test in Hobart.

SKYcricket
 
For such a fine bat, joe lacks the match awareness side to his captaincy. To many occasions when the match has been evenly balanced, his tactics has cost him to rest the initiative at the crucial point in the game.

I feel he's made the right decision to step down, and with the incoming new regime, a new captain, new ideas are required to take the team forward.
 
Manunited18 said:
For such a fine bat, joe lacks the match awareness side to his captaincy. To many occasions when the match has been evenly balanced, his tactics has cost him to rest the initiative at the crucial point in the game.

I feel he's made the right decision to step down, and with the incoming new regime, a new captain, new ideas are required to take the team forward.
Click to expand...

Yep the correct decision.

Joe Root will go down as an ATG batsman, and deserves credit for steering England through the Covid pandemic and an insane Test schedule under a Board that's devalued red ball cricket.

However it'd break the server if I listed the number of tactical and selection errors, and the results don't lie. It's not just that they've won once in 17 Tests, but the awful manner in which England keep losing !

The amount of batting collapses have become comical, and Joe seems too nice for his own good. They need a hard taskmaster like a Border, Gooch or Nasser.
 
So among the Fab-4, only Williamson remains as captain of his team.

Smith suffered a scandal, Kohli was prised out by the board, and Root's lack of results caught up with him.
 
Markhor said:
Yep the correct decision.

Joe Root will go down as an ATG batsman, and deserves credit for steering England through the Covid pandemic and an insane Test schedule under a Board that's devalued red ball cricket.

However it'd break the server if I listed the number of tactical and selection errors, and the results don't lie. It's not just that they've won once in 17 Tests, but the awful manner in which England keep losing !

The amount of batting collapses have become comical, and Joe seems too nice for his own good. They need a hard taskmaster like a Border, Gooch or Nasser.
Click to expand...

Yep. Obviously stokes will be the favourite, but I've seen Rory Burns captain Surrey to the county championship title and he's a very astute captain. His glaring downfall is he can't hold a regular spot in the England
Side, otherwise he would fit the bill perfectly.
 
Lots of rumours and hot tips surrounding Ben Stokes, but nothing confirmed yet.

For me this would be an extremely risky decision, it would probably go wrong, and it shouldn’t happen.
 
The Sunday Telegraph are saying that Rob Key is almost a done deal as ECB Director, and that in this case his strong preference as captain would be Stokes…
 
James said:
Lots of rumours and hot tips surrounding Ben Stokes, but nothing confirmed yet.

For me this would be an extremely risky decision, it would probably go wrong, and it shouldn’t happen.
Click to expand...
There's no one else who actually has a guaranteed spot in the side.
Bairstow has just sealed his spot a month ago with that ton against windies, while all other batters are relatively new.

Can't see England go with a bowler as captain coz they have an intense workload management schedule and rotation policy.
 
James said:
Lots of rumours and hot tips surrounding Ben Stokes, but nothing confirmed yet.

For me this would be an extremely risky decision, it would probably go wrong, and it shouldn’t happen.
Click to expand...

It's risky especially with Stokes' injury record but he'll likely get it on the basis of nobody else even remotely looking like nailing down a permanent position.

They could use Broad as an interim captain until someone else emerges, but sometimes the obvious answer is the best answer.

They've also got Test and white ball coaches, a Chief Selector, a CEO and a Chairman to hire so perhaps we should brush up our LinkedIn profiles :))
 
London: Former England cricketer Geoffrey Boycott feels that Joe Root never had the tactical nous to be an efficient Test skipper. He added that though Root won universal admiration for his behaviour, he could never leave an impact as a Test captain for England with his cricketing tactics.

On April 16, Root stepped down as England’s Test captain after captaining the side in 64 matches, registering 27 wins, the most by any men’s Test captain from the country in the longest format of the game. But with England winning just one out of its last 17 Tests and losing men’s Ashes 4-0 followed by a 1-0 series defeat in the West Indies last month, calls for Root’s resignation increased and culminated with him stepping down on Saturday.

“Tactically Joe has not got it and never had it. If it’s not there I don’t believe you can learn it. It is instinct, a feel for the changing situations of a match and some experience helps. Setting fields and getting bowlers to bowl to them is crucial to any chance of winning. Having different plans for every opposition batsman is vital,” wrote Boycott in his column for The Telegraph on Monday.

“Captaincy is tactical awareness and man-management of players. The players and public all like Joe so a dressing room with Joe in charge is bound to be a good place, but that alone doesn’t win matches. Being smart and clever with a cricket brain has more impact,” added Boycott, who played 108 Tests for England.

Through his experience of playing Test cricket, Boycott admitted that giving up Test captaincy wouldn’t have been an easy call for Root as his batting was unaffected by leadership responsibility.

“He took his time to reflect on his position before resigning. It will have tormented him as nobody gives up the captaincy of their country easily. So many players and coaches have publicly said how much they like him and want him to carry on. The dressing room team spirit is great, Joe worked his socks off and cared passionately. The captaincy did not affect his batting.”

Boycott predicted that no matter who replaces Root as England’s Test captain, the team will continue to struggle due to poor performances in the past. “I think, like me, the cricketing public are so down and disheartened with English red ball cricket that the captaincy issue is not a big deal. It should be but we have had so much promise, potential, PR speeches from captain and coaches that now we have turned off because the team keeps losing.”

“And the only reason England keep losing is because they aren’t good enough. We don’t want to believe it but deep down we know it is true and it’s that truth that hurts and dispirits us. We keep hoping English cricket will get better but we are not convinced it will. So whoever is made captain will it change anything? Probably not.

https://www.cricketcountry.com/news...fter-joe-root-stepped-down-as-captain-1019186
 
Am sad for him.

Decent guy, plays the way u'd want your kid to play. Not for him the super foaming sledging behemoth or the attitude fuelled dudemachismo that is the wont in the so many andu shandu jhandu leagues.

plays and led with passion but in the right spirit. I guess, once captaincy is removed he will be all the more lethal with the bat
Good luck Champ :)
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Always got each other’s backs. Congratulations mate, I’ll be right with you every step of the way ❤️ <a href="https://t.co/KqO3mZpd9X">pic.twitter.com/KqO3mZpd9X</a></p>— Joe Root (@root66) <a href="https://twitter.com/root66/status/1519647713490571264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
England captain Ben Stokes has revealed star batter and former skipper Joe Root will bat at number four during the upcoming Test series against New Zealand.

Root batted at number three during England's most recent Test series against West Indies in the Caribbean, but has a far better record for his country when coming in at second drop.

The former England skipper has an excellent average of 51.27 when batting at number four, which is almost 12 runs greater than his mark (39.67) when batting at three.

Root did manage two centuries while batting at three during his final series as Test captain against West Indies, but Stokes feels it will be best for the side to return the 31-year-old to his more natural position at four.

England currently sit on the bottom of the World Test Championship standings with the sole Test victory over the last 12 months and will need Root firing on all cylinders if they are to propel themselves ahead of other countries.

Stokes plans to bat himself at six and is hoping prospective players that harbour aspirations of batting in England's recently frail top and middle-orders will give him plenty to ponder by scoring a bulk of runs at county level ahead of the first Test of the summer against the Kiwis at Lord's on June 2.

"I've already spoken with Joe. I've asked him to go back to four and I'm going to be at six," Stokes said.

"Wherever Joe bats he gets runs, but his best position is at four. Joe will probably be averaging 90 now instead of 60 (Root's average in 2021), so it'll be good.

"I feel him at four and me at six gives us a bit of experience in that gap. So you can obviously see where the places are opening up for people to put their hands up, it's three and five.

"I now feel I have to follow a lot more of the county games now to see who is scoring runs rather than just checking the Durham score."

The make-up of England's bowling line-up for that first Test next month remains unclear, with Stokes unlikely to have a full list of seamers to choose from because of injury.

Noted speedsters Jofra Archer and Mark Wood remain on the sidelines, while left-armer Sam Curran only made a successful return from injury for his county side last week.

The new England captain has already revealed he will hand recalls to veteran duo James Anderson and Stuart Broad, with the likes of Ollie Robinson and Chris Woakes likely to be in the mix to feature alongside first choice spinner Jack Leach.

"You look at the players who aren't available through injury – (Mark) Wood, (Jofra) Archer, (Olly) Stone, (Sam) Curran - they'd all be seriously fighting for places," Stokes said.

"Then you place them among Broady, Jimmy, Robbo, Woakesy...it's so exciting to think about the team we could put out there if we don't have any injuries. Unfortunately we do. We just have to pick the best XI we have to choose from and I'll always make sure we do that."

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/2608853
 
Interesting, and a good decision from Ben.

Literally can’t call who is going to be picked either side of Root-Bairstow-Stokes at 4-5-6.
 
Rob Key:

Root succeeded Sir Alastair Cook as Test captain in 2017, and last month ended his tenure with the most matches (64) and wins (27) in the job.

Key says the 31-year-old, who was named as Wisden's leading cricketer in the world last month, led the side at "the most horrendous time to be an England cricketer" due to the added pressure that came with playing international sport during a global pandemic.

Key said: "I remember just thinking: Oh, my God. Joe Root. How well has he done?

"We obviously know he's had a great year but he has had that year when he was doing everything as well it seemed.

"There was so much put on his shoulders. He was trying to be the ambassador for the England team that he is as a captain, and in a team that was struggling and the way that he was playing and what he was able to do. It's honestly one of the great achievements.

"Statistically it will just look in history as 'He got this amount of runs and he did this and he was this as a captain', but it won't actually say in there, 'Oh, and by the way, it was the most horrendous time to be an England cricketer, where you are under so much pressure and the captain was the lone man doing it all'.

"It's one of the great sporting achievements. And as well for him to then now seem to have somehow parked it all to some degree and he's like, right, what do you need? How do we move on from here? How can I help Ben?

SKY
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&#55357;&#56495; for Joe Root in the battle of the Roses!<br><br>Including this stunning drive for 4️⃣ off Jimmy Anderson &#55357;&#56384;<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LVCountyChamp?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LVCountyChamp</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/root66?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@root66</a> <a href="https://t.co/YtkfBKHFSc">pic.twitter.com/YtkfBKHFSc</a></p>— LV= Insurance County Championship (@CountyChamp) <a href="https://twitter.com/CountyChamp/status/1525483093917945863?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Every boundary of Joe Root's 147 against Lancashire &#55357;&#56845;<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LVCountyChamp?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LVCountyChamp</a> <a href="https://t.co/tJJlof21zj">pic.twitter.com/tJJlof21zj</a></p>— LV= Insurance County Championship (@CountyChamp) <a href="https://twitter.com/CountyChamp/status/1525543814257070083?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&#55357;&#56628; <a href="https://twitter.com/jimmy9?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jimmy9</a> &#55356;&#56730; <a href="https://twitter.com/root66?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@root66</a> ⚪️<br><br>Enjoy every ball from their encounter in the clash of the Roses!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LVCountyChamp?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LVCountyChamp</a> <a href="https://t.co/XmI9JwhzSC">pic.twitter.com/XmI9JwhzSC</a></p>— LV= Insurance County Championship (@CountyChamp) <a href="https://twitter.com/CountyChamp/status/1526112718096195584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Last edited:
Joe Root says the England captaincy had begun to have an "unhealthy effect" on him before he stood down from the role in April.

Root, 31, was speaking after his unbeaten 115 steered England to a five-wicket victory over New Zealand in the first LV= Insurance Test at Lord's.

England's successful chase of 277 ensured a positive start to Ben Stokes' tenure as captain with the team having won just one of their previous 17 games under Root amid a period of batting collapses, Covid-19 restrictions and rest and rotation.

Root told Sky Sports: "It was tough to step down as captain but I'd thrown everything at it, every bit of myself into it and it had started to have an unhealthy effect on the rest of my life.

"I couldn't leave it in the car or at the cricket ground. It wasn't fair on myself or my family and I want to enjoy my cricket. It's a role that needs so much energy and you can see that within Ben."

Speaking later on to reporters, Root said: "I had thrown everything at it [captaincy] and I was determined to help turn this team around. But I realised over that time at home that it would have to be in a different way.

"I'm very excited to do that now, to do everything I can to help Ben turn this team around and make it the force it should and can be."

Root led England in a record 64 Test matches during his five-year stint in charge, winning 27 games, losing 26 and drawing 11.

"I'll do anything I can to help England win Test matches and be a side people enjoy watching and can be proud of.

"It got to the stage where it was time for someone else to lead. I threw absolutely everything at the role. I'm proud of the way that I tried to do that."

England's new skipper Stokes spoke of his joy at getting his tenure off to a winning start, while also managing to single out his great friend Root for praise.

"Winning games is always special, particularly for England, and this was a great day," Stokes said.

Ben Stokes was pleased with England's first Test win over New Zealand, especially with the recent changes around the team.
"It was fantastic for me to see a very close friend walk off after leading the team to victory. Joe and I are very close, we're not just work colleagues.

"To see him walk off there, leading the team to victory, seeing the emotion of pure joy and happiness to win a game for England in his first game after stepping down as captain was amazing.

"There is never any doubt of Joe stepping up on the big occasions."

There was mutual appreciation from Root, whose 26th career century saw him join Sir Alastair Cook in an exclusive group of just two Englishman to pass 10,000 Test runs.

Root said he owed several of his most memorable wins as captain to Stokes and told reporters: "It's my turn now.

"That's a great motivator for me moving forward," he added. "With the amount of amazing things Ben did for this team under my leadership, it's a great opportunity for me in the next phase of my career to do that for him. I'm not sure I'll be able to do some of the things he has done but I can certainly try."

Can Root break Tendulkar's Test runs record?

Former Australia captain Mark Taylor believes Root can surpass Indian great Sachin Tendulkar's tally of 15,921 Test runs

Root became the 14th player to 10,000 runs in the format during his Lord's hundred, achieving the feat at 31 years and 157 days.

Taylor told Sky Sports: "Root has minimum five years left in him, so I think Tendulkar's record is very achievable.

"He is batting as well as I have ever seen him bat over the last 18 months to two years.

"He is in the prime of his career, so there is 15,000 runs-plus for him if he stays healthy."

Mel Jones feels that "maybe 16 or 17,000" Test runs is attainable for Root now he no longer has the pressures of captaincy to deal with.

SKYCRICKET
 
Looked re-energised without the burden of captaincy.

I was surprised he didn't resign from the captaincy sooner than he did.
 
Joe had his glint and spark back in that very honest and candid interview today, and the deep blue colour in his eyes had returned. He just looked happy to be playing cricket again.

Completely the right decision from him to stand down and focus on his batting.

The England Test match captaincy does horrible things to people. Had always done so, and will do so again unfortunately.
 
Joe Root has backed Ben Stokes to lead England to more Test success and believes their new aggressive style in recent months has made them a threat to any team.

England have won six of their seven Test matches since Root stepped down as captain in the spring, with the new leadership of Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum guiding them to series victories over New Zealand and South Africa.

Root played a key role in all four matches where they chased down a fourth-innings target of 275 to win, seeing them complete a series sweep against the Kiwis and a final-Test victory against India, having only won one of their previous 17 matches with him as captain.

England also bounced back from a heavy defeat in the opening Test against South Africa to win their final two matches of the summer, with Root hoping to extend that winning streak this December in Pakistan.

"It has been great fun," Root told Sky Sports News about England's summer. "I thoroughly enjoyed this year as much as probably any I have in international cricket since I've been playing, in terms of Test cricket in particular.

"Hopefully we can go from strength to strength from here and keep moving forward as a team, but we've done things this year that not many Test teams have been able to achieve.

"The challenge for us now is to keep going for it, keep trying to explore new areas in the format and see how far we can take it.

"You feel like you can win games from anywhere when you're playing like this. I think that's the most exciting thing and makes us such a dangerous team to play against.

"It would be really exciting to try and do it in different conditions and see where we go this winter, where we go abroad onto different surfaces in different parts of the world. It's an exciting time for the team."

England's Test side have a three-match series in Pakistan this December ahead of two Tests against New Zealand in February, with Root enjoying his different role within the England set-up.

"It was a tough last couple of years, but I think we've got to look forward as a team - I certainly have," Root added. "I'm really excited just to get my teeth into trying to score as many runs as I can for Ben [Stokes] and the team and see where we can get to as a side.

"As an experienced player in the team I've still got a role in leading in a different capacity, helping with some of the younger batters and younger guys and hopefully that will benefit us as well.

"I'm really excited [for Pakistan]. I've never been before. When you look at some of the games that have been there in the last couple of years, the teams touring there, it has looked great so really looking forward to getting out there.

"I'm really excited to do something different. Having played the game for 10 years in international cricket, to now get the opportunity to play there is a really exciting chance."

SKY
 
135 Tests, 171 ODIs, 32 T20Is
18,831 international runs
46 centuries, 104 fifties
World Cup winner

Undoubtedly one of England's greatest, Joe Root celebrates his 33rd birthday today
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

BouncerGuy
[PICTURE/VIDEO] Akash Deep’s dismissal of Joe Root on Day 4 of the second Test – Fair delivery or illegal?
Replies
15
Views
1K
big_gamer007
big_gamer007
BouncerGuy
  • Poll Poll
Who should Pakistan appoint as the new Test captain?
Replies
37
Views
1K
BunnyRabbit
B
Ball Blazer
Zimbabwe tour of England (2025)
Replies
57
Views
1K
light
L
Ball Blazer
  • Poll Poll
Can India chase down 193 to go 2-1 in the 5-match Test series against England?
Replies
77
Views
1K
RedwoodOriginal
RedwoodOriginal
Ab Fan
India - England combined XI (Post 2000s)
Replies
20
Views
449
DeadlyVenom
D
Back
Top