The pressure had been growing on Joe Root for some time, but perhaps what would turn out to be his final Test as England captain cemented his fate. The third game of England’s winter tour of the Caribbean was disastrous, as they succumbed in meek fashion not dissimilar to the Ashes thrashing that preceded it, with Root powerless and out of ideas to stifle the West Indies.
This time the verdict was unanimous. Michael Atherton, Michael Vaughan, Nasser Hussain – former England captains who understand the unique stresses and strains of the job and how it pervades every corner of life on and off the field – sensed the moment was right to walk away. After much deliberation and consultation with close friends and family, Root finally agreed.
Having initially tried to take the positives from the 1-0 loss to West Indies and insisted he still had the “passion” for the job, Root, 31, cited the toll on his life beyond cricket for his change of heart. He will continue as a batsman and perhaps a better one once he adjusts to his new role, freed of the shackles of responsibility as he sets his sights on catching Alastair Cook’s England runs record. Cook himself later admitted he found it a difficult transition from captain to batsman under Root’s early leadership, and Root may need time to come to terms with the change.
He steps down with his head held high. Root carried the captaincy with decency and pride, and his efforts brought plenty of reward too: away wins in South Africa and Sri Lanka were highlights for a Test team which had too often lacked conviction abroad. His tally of 27 wins is a record as England captain, but then so is his collection of 25 losses. England have one win in their past 17 games and are bottom of the Test Championship; for all the success and initial progress under Root, it is hard to conclude he leaves the team in a better place than he found it.
That is hardly all Root’s fault, of course, and a captain is only as good as the players he leads. Vacancies at head coach, director of cricket and ECB chair tell the story of a tumultuous period at the top of the English game, which is in desperate need of a reset on and off the field. The ECB has only six weeks before New Zealand arrive on these shores for a three-match series and England could hardly be in more disarray.
Rob Key is favourite to become English cricket’s new director and he will at least have avoided having to make a call over Root’s future, but choosing Root’s replacement is far from straightforward. The leading candidate for captaincy is Ben Stokes, one of the few in the batting line-up with an untouchable place. Stokes is already the current vice captain and stood in for one Test when Root was on paternity leave. Yet as a star of white and red-ball cricket Stokes faces an enormous workload and huge pressures, and took time out last summer to look after his mental wellbeing.
Then there’s Stuart Broad, who like Stokes would command the respect of the dressing room, but his place has not always been assured and his overs have been managed in recent years as he enters the autumn of his career – both he and James Anderson were bemused to be dropped by Root for the West Indies series. At 35, Broad is five years Stokes’s senior and would be a more short-term pick.
There appear few other standout options. Zak Crawley and Sam Billings are potential candidates down the road, but neither’s Test role is secure. As Mike Atherton told Sky Sports on Friday: “The days are long gone where you could have a Mike Brearley figure, someone who wouldn’t necessarily be the first choice.”
This in itself embodies the task for the man who takes over a dressing room lacking natural leaders. In truth, England lack leadership from top to bottom, from the boardroom to the training field to the middle., with glaring gaps in the hierarchy. Whoever takes on the captaincy faces one of the most challenging periods in the team’s recent history; the irony is that one of the few dependables they will likely have at their disposal is the runs of their predecessor, Root.
