Joe Root maybe passionate about England’s Test captainship, but should he continue in that role after West Indies’ latest devastating defeat? In January, the 31-year old star batter said that he wanted to help rebuild England’s red-ball fortunes.
He continued to lead the Caribbean team after their embarrassing 4-0 Ashes series defeat in Australia. After two draws, England lost the series by 1-0 to Grenada after a crushing 10-wicket defeat against West Indies on Sunday.
Root has overseen only one win in 17 Tests, and England has not won a series in five of his previous five attempts.
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He maintained that he was passionate about moving the team forward Sunday.
“I feel like my group is behind me. Although I am aware that this business is results-oriented, it doesn’t feel far from turning the tide.
Root might have decided his future as skipper after being in charge for five years and playing a record 64 matches.
Following the Ashes disaster, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) sacked Ashley Giles, their managing director, and Chris Silverwood, with former Test players Paul Collingwood and Andrew Strauss taking over as interim directors.
The root will continue to serve as an interim leader of the ECB until that is done. Given that England’s next Test against New Zealand is in June at Lord’s, Root is unlikely to resign.
“End of the road.”
However, Mike Atherton, former captain of England, was determined that his position as skipper wasn’t “untenable.”
Atherton wrote in The Times that Root had reached the end as captain “as was obvious for anyone present in Australia.”
Root, a cricketer who was guaranteed his place in the XI, was the obvious choice for the captain’s post when Alastair Cook resigned in 2017.
Root has been consistent, unlike many England captains. The root is currently the top-ranked tourist batting average in the West Indies, having scored 1,708 Test runs in 2021, the third-highest total in any calendar year.
However, doubts about his ability to be a forceful leader and possess the tactical skills required have intensified over recent months.
Nasser Hussain, a former skipper, accused Root of not having an “instinctive feeling for the game of the captain” and being part of a “cop-out” after England’s controversial decision of leaving James Anderson and Stuart Broad — their most successful Test bowlers — out the Caribbean squad.
In the Daily Mail, Hussain said that although they want to be liked by their team, you need more to win Tests.
“Sometimes, you need those tough characters even though they are difficult to coach and captain.”
If Root is not available, who should be England’s captain?
After the Covid-19 epidemic, Ben Stokes impressed as a white-ball skipper in Pakistan.
However, he soon took an extended absence from the game to “prioritize [his mental health],” and England will be cautious about adding to the all-rounder’s workload.
Broad is an option, even if it’s only for the short-term. Even though it has been 40 years since England appointed a paceman (the late Bob Willis) as captain, there are still fears about quicks lacking objectivity when it comes to bowl.
However, English perceptions may have been altered by Pat Cummins’s victory in leading Australia to a series victory in Pakistan following a home Ashes win.
If England continues to suffer the same kind of collapse as Grenada, where they were dismissed for 120 runs to leave the West Indies with only 28 points to win, the captain will be a difficult task.
Michael Vaughan, former England captain, told BT Sport that he doesn’t see the Test match side becoming a team that wins series after series. This is even when it’s in English conditions.
He was also scathing in his assessment of Root’s captaincy following a match in which Root’s fellow Yorkshire batsman was “a far short” tactically.
