One win in England’s last 17 Tests. Those were the numbers that greeted Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes when they took over in 2022, a reminder of just how bad things had ended under Joe Root. It was a statistic that gave the new boys permission to rip up the old order.
So it’s easy to forget that precious one. It was near the middle of that horror run, and it came at Headingley against India five years ago this month. The tourists were bowled out for 78 as Root reached three figures and celebrated his 27th victory as Test captain, a record among Englishmen. The Yorkshireman had to come home to find some breathing space.
