Joe Root has been reappointed as England’s full-time Test captain, beginning with the first Test against Pakistan this week. This marks his return to a role he previously held from 2017 to 2022, during which he led the team in a national record 65 Tests. Root stepped down after a challenging period, where England recorded only one win in 17 matches. Reflecting on his previous captaincy, Root stated, “The last couple of years, it (the captaincy) sucked the life out of me… I was a shadow of the person I wanted to be… Once I’d made the decision it was a real relief.” His reappointment raises questions about the current leadership structure within the England team.
England’s decision to reappoint Joe Root for a second spell as full-time Test captain, starting with this week’s opener against Pakistan, is an obvious move but arguably an indictment of the lack of leadership in their set-up.
Harry Brook, vice-captain under Stokes, is already the skipper of England’s white-ball teams and it may have been too much to expect him to lead the side in all three formats. When Stokes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson were omitted from the second Test against New Zealand after breaking that curfew in a London bar, Root was installed as acting captain. But, despite a modest return of 27 wins, 27 defeats and 11 draws as Test captain, Root is putting himself through it all again.
“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 was stand-in captain against New Zealand.
Ollie Pope, back in the squad for the first Test against Pakistan at Headingley, has previously been England’s vice-captain.
