Joe Root calls for time for his England Test cricket captain

The timing may have come as a shock as it came “early on Good Friday,” Mike Atherton said in The times. But there was nothing surprising about the decision itself. The complete melancholy England’s Recent Appearances – they have lost 11 of their last 17 friendly matches – has finally forced Joe Root to acknowledge what most people have known for some time: that his time as England captain is up.

Root has been in charge for five years, making him England’s longest-serving captain, Ali Martin said in The guard. And he leaves a curiously mixed record: he is the captain with the most test wins (27), but also the most defeats (26). Some of his achievements have been impressive, notably strings of wins in South Africa and India, and he has been an “unquestionable ambassador for English football” but he never achieved his ultimate goal of “being an Ashes-winning captain”.

Alan Gardner said Root was a “man of the highest decency” who had distinguished himself many times on the pastoral side of the captaincy ESPNcricinfo. When Ben Stokes unexpectedly withdrew from the Test squad last summer, he offered an impeccably judged message of support. However, his relationship with his bowlers is “more complex”. By overturning Jofra Archer in 2019, he arguably contributed to the elbow injury that could end the fast bowler’s Test career. He was also criticized for mishandling his “seam bowling totems James Anderson and Stuart Broad”.

An undeniable benefit of Root’s retirement is that it allows him to focus all his energies on his batting, Oliver Brown said The Daily Telegraph. Although Root excelled early in his captaincy, the “tension” was beginning to take its toll. Still only 31, he is said to have “five best years ahead of him”: There is no good reason why he “cannot return to the glories of his pomp”.