When Joe Root left the field for the first time in his second stint as England’s Test captain, he did so with Harry Brook’s arm over his shoulder. Two Yorkshiremen. Two England batters. The only two candidates when England needed to replace Ben Stokes as skipper. Brook could have appeared scorned after being overlooked for
First Rothesay Test, Headingley (day one of five) Pakistan 171 all out: Shafique 61; Tongue 5-46, Robinson 5-51 England 112-2: Root 37*, Gay 33; Abbas 1-34 England are 59 runs behind Scorecard Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue each took five wickets to give Joe Root the ideal start to his second spell as England captain
Root, England’s greatest batter and a veteran of 166 Tests, said he hoped his “natural persona” is suited to bringing a sense of calm to the men’s national team. Off-field issues dominated last winter’s tours, including an incident involving Harry Brook and a nightclub bouncer in Wellington and the team’s drinking during a mid-Ashes trip
Covid destroyed Root’s team, and there are other reasons why Root might also feel he didn’t get a fair shake first time around. His tenure as captain coincided with a prioritisation of white-ball cricket and, when he stood in for Stokes against New Zealand in June, he admitted to some envy at not getting the
New Test captain Joe Root has abolished the midnight curfew imposed on the England team under predecessor Ben Stokes. It was introduced during the winter after a number of late-night incidents on the tours of New Zealand and Australia. Following the first Test of the home summer – a win against New Zealand – Stokes
Available for 29 days James Gregg is joined by Sir Alastair Cook, Steven Finn and, Alex Hartley who look at what’s ahead for Stephen Fleming, who has been appointed as the new England Test head coach – replacing his former New Zealand teammate Brendan McCullum. Joe Root has been made captain for a second
