Joe Root should step down as England’s Test captain, Michael Vaughan has said.
Vaughan, who captained his country 51 times between 2003 and 2008, believes Root has taken the role “as far as he possibly can” in the wake of a drab 1-0 loss over a three-match series in West Indies.
England have won only one of their last 17 Tests and the pressure has been mounting on Root following a 4-0 Ashes series defeat by Australia before the West Indies tour.
“If he rings me in the next week and asks for some advice I’ll be dead honest – I’d tell him to step down,” Vaughan told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“Will England be any worse off not having him as a captain? I don’t think they would, because they are going to get his runs and a senior player. They’ll get a great role model. I don’t think there is a better role model in English cricket.”
The 31-year-old Root has captained England’s Test side a record 64 times, winning 27 and losing 26 of those matches.
Asked after the Windies defeat whether he still had the appetite to continue, Root was adamant that he has the backing of his teammate and is “very passionate about taking the team forward”.
England are currently searching for a new director of cricket and head coach after both Ashley Giles and Chris Silverwood were sacked following the Ashes.
England’s interim head coach Paul Collingwood has said he is amazed that questions are being asked about Root’s captaincy and that the Yorkshireman is “desperate” to get the team back to winning ways.
“Sometimes it amazes me that he gets questioned, because of how it feels within the dressing room,” Collingwood, who was in charge for the West Indies tour after Chris Silverwood stepped down, told British media.
“It’s the first time I’ve experienced him as a head coach, and worked with him. You can see the passion, the drive. There’s a real hunger to get it right. These aren’t just words coming out of his mouth.
“He’s desperate to get the team back to winning games of cricket. I can’t say anything but positivity in terms of what he has done leadership wise in the dressing room, trying to move this team forward.”
Collingwood said the likes of Root and all-rounder Ben Stokes had been “superb” on their Caribbean tour but added that he understood the scrutiny the team is under.
“I can see it because we’re not winning games of cricket,” he said. “When you have that kind of record, I can understand where the noise comes from.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
