England’s decision to reappoint Joe Root as full-time Test captain is an obvious move. However, it also highlights the lack of leadership options in their set-up.
Root will begin his second full-time spell as captain in this week’s Test opener against Pakistan.
The 35-year-old remains one of the best batsmen of his generation. He has already led England in a national record 65 Tests, mainly during a five-year spell from 2017 to 2022.
Root Returns to the Captaincy
Root initially stood down as skipper after a difficult run of one win in 17 Tests.
“The last couple of years, it (the captaincy) sucked the life out of me,” he said a few months later on a podcast.
“I was a shadow of the person I wanted to be… Once I’d made the decision it was a real relief.”
Despite his modest record of 27 wins, 27 defeats and 11 draws as Test captain, Root is taking on the responsibility again.
England have no realistic alternative after former skipper Ben Stokes announced his retirement from international cricket during the third Test against New Zealand in June.
Harry Brook served as Stokes’s vice-captain. However, he already leads England’s white-ball teams.
As a result, it may have been too much to expect Brook to lead the side in all three formats.
Leadership Options Remain Limited
Brook’s altercation with a nightclub bouncer in New Zealand last November led England to impose a midnight curfew.
Stokes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson later broke that curfew in a London bar. England then omitted both players from the second Test against New Zealand.
Root subsequently became acting captain.
Root announced last week that he was ditching the curfew.
England also have limited options among their batsmen. None of their batsmen besides Brook are certain of their place.
The bowlers also offer no clear candidates for captaincy. Fitness issues make that option even more difficult.
Ollie Pope has previously served as England’s vice-captain. He returns to the squad for the first Test against Pakistan at Headingley.
However, England replaced him with Brook as vice-captain. They then dropped Pope from the team during England’s 4-1 Ashes thrashing in Australia.
‘Different Player’
England appear to want Root to remain Test captain until at least the end of next year’s home Ashes.
That would give him a run of 13 Tests. The schedule includes a tough tour of South Africa later this year.
England will also travel to Bangladesh. Bangladesh delivered one of the all-time great upsets on Sunday with a commanding nine-wicket win over Australia.
England will hope Root can become a more astute skipper during his second spell.
“I am a very different player and have a different way of looking at the game than the last time I captained, in a good way,” the 35-year-old said when he served as stand-in captain against New Zealand.
However, the main concern is that leadership could affect Root’s batting.
Root is already in sight of surpassing India hero Sachin Tendulkar as Test cricket’s all-time leading run-scorer. England cannot afford to see him become a less effective batsman.
The team has lost seven of its last nine Tests. It now needs to move on from the Bazball era.
England Look to Change Their Approach
Root said earlier this month that he would not “rip up” the playbook of ultra-aggressive cricket.
Instead, he plans to “tweak” things. He hopes that approach can help England win series against powerhouses India and Australia.
Those victories eluded Stokes and former Test coach Brendon McCullum. McCullum remains in charge of England’s white-ball teams.
England often faced accusations of arrogance under Stokes and McCullum. The criticism became stronger once results started to go against them.
The three-Test series against Pakistan will now show whether England under Root can turn the tide.
