Joe Root’s tenure as England men’s Test captain is over after the batter announced his resignation Friday morning.
The batter’s five years in the job have brought a number of landmark successes as well as some disappointing failures, most notably England’s inability to win back the Ashes.
Here we look back at some of the key moments during Root’s reign...
South Africa 2017
Root was named England captain in February 2017 following Alastair Cook’s decision to step down, having been the opener’s vice since 2015 and clearly heir-apparent.
He had to wait until the first Test of the summer at Lord’s in early July to lead the side out for the first time but marked the occasion with a superb 190 - the highest score by an England captain in his first match in charge - as England won by 211 runs.
Despite a thrashing in the Second Test at Trent Bridge that drew early criticism from former captains Michael Vaughan and Nasser Hussain, England went on to wrap up a commanding 3-1 series victory.
Ashes 2017/18
Root was up against it going into his first Ashes series as captain, with what was generally accepted to be a sub-par side further weakened by the absence of vice-captain and star all-rounder Ben Stokes in the aftermath of the Bristol nightclub incident.
There would be no underdog triumph as the tourists were thrashed 4-0, Root’s series ending not on the field of play at the Sydney Cricket Ground but on the dressing room sickbed, having been hospitalised with viral gastroenteritis on the morning of the final day before returning to battle to a brave half-century and then retiring ill.
India 2018
On paper, Root’s second home summer as captain brought perhaps the greatest series triumph of his reign as England beat world No1 India 4-1.
While he was outshone by the brilliance of opposite number Virat Kohli with the bat, Root finished the summer with an understated century in a Fifth Test at the Oval best remembered for Cook’s farewell ton and James Anderson surpassing Glenn McGrath’s all-time record for most test wickets by a fast bowler.
Ashes 2019
An epic summer of cricket began with Root playing a crucial part in England’s ODI World Cup win under Eoin Morgan but a thrilling Ashes series ultimately ended in him becoming the first England captain since 2001 to fail to win the Ashes on home soil.
Stokes’ Headingley heroics and victory in the Fifth Test with the Urn already gone at least salvaged a 2-2 draw, but Root’s captaincy was regularly criticised throughout the summer, particularly with regards to England’s failure to come up with a plan to unsettle Steve Smith.
South Africa 2019/20
The winter tour of South Africa brought the moment of peak-optimism of Root’s tenure as an inexperienced side battled back from losing the First Test amid a bout of illness in the camp to secure a memorable 3-1 victory in new head coach Chris Silverwood’s first series in charge.
Stokes continued his sensational form from the summer, while a number of young stars - Dom Bess, Ollie Pope, Zak Crawley and Dom Sibley - would at some point make their mark on the series, suggesting a bright future. It did not materialise.
Pandemic summer 2020
The summer of 2020 saw England record behind-closed-doors home series wins over both Pakistan and West Indies as the ambassadorial aspect of the role Root performed so well came to the fore.
The captain was a leading voice in support of the NHS and helped orchestrate the iconic show of support for the Black Lives Matter movement alongside West Indies as sport first returned after the lockdown.
However, the series’ also signalled the beginning of an era of bio-secure bubbles and Covid complications that would come to dog the rest of Root’s tenure.
Sri Lanka 2020/21
The 2018 win in Sri Lanka had ended a torrid start to Root’s reign in away matches as captain, victory coming after he’d failed to win any of his first seven matches overseas.
Returning two years later, his captaincy seemed to be gathering momentum as the tourists made it four straight series successes, while scores of 228 and 186 marked the start of a remarkable purple patch for Root the batter.
While his personal run would continue, England’s would soon collapse in miserable fashion.
India 2021
England began their crunch series against India with a brilliant victory in Chennai as Root scored another flowing double-century.
Things unravelled quickly thereafter, however, as England’s controversial rest and rotation policy - implemented above Root’s head - took effect, the likes of Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali leaving the tour mid-series as the tourists were hammered in each of the three remaining Tests.
Ahead of India’s return visit in the summer, Root declared it was time to put the rest and rotation policy away and instead it was his tactical flaws that drew intense criticism, nowhere more so than after the Lord’s Test, when a tenth-wicket partnership of 89 between Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah doomed the hosts on the final day.
Ashes 2021/22
Root became the first Englishman in more than a century to captain a second Ashes series away from home but it would prove the nadir of his reign as England were blown away, beaten inside 12 days of cricket and only narrowly avoiding a whitewash in a 4-0 defeat.
England blundered on team selection and reading of conditions, while Root was involved in a public dispute with his bowlers over their lengths and even found his best form with the bat deserting him as he again failed to reach three figures Down Under.
West Indies 2022
Despite the sackings of head coach Chris Silverwood, batting coach Graeme Thorpe and managing director Ashley Giles, Root survived to lead the team to the Caribbean in something of an in-between series ahead of an expected overhaul going into the home summer.
Senior bowlers James Anderson and Stuart Broad were controversially left at home in a decision that backfired emphatically as England’s attack struggled on lifeless pitches in the first two drawn Tests.
The return of old failings and defeat in the Third signalled the end of the road.
