Why Joe Root will be a different England captain now: The reason the job became ‘unhealthy’ first time around, the lessons he’s learnt from Ben Stokes, the stars he’s set to call on… and the one he may axe

Joe Root yesterday acknowledged he had taken on ‘a difficult but hugely rewarding job’ after being reappointed as England Test captain.

Perhaps the water passing under the bridge since he quit four years ago emanated from Lourdes rather than Lord’s, because it appears to have contained healing properties for a player who said his relationship with the captaincy had become ‘unhealthy’ and felt like a ‘big weight’ on his shoulders.

So, what exactly has changed for Root? The most obvious answer is the environment. Because for the final 17 of his record 64 appearances as England captain between 2017 and 2022, cricket had become joyless for the Yorkshireman and his team as they lurched from one sterilised Covid hotel to another. Bazball reconnected him to fun.

After succeeding Alastair Cook from a shortlist of one nine years ago, there was an inescapable feeling that Root was the only suitable man for the job. It prevailed throughout his reign.

Yet, hiding in plain sight was a much more dynamic, attacking and at times maverick alternative in the form of Ben Stokes. And it was Stokes who provided liberation, teaching Root that even players in positions of responsibility could be free and that mistakes need not be millstones. That is why those close to him and the England team now feel Root 2.0 will be different.    

Mistakes had been plentiful towards the end of his first stint; a well-meaning but mis-executed rotation policy designed to protect premier players from burnout left the wrong horses picked for designated courses, such as when Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad were omitted from the first Test at the Gabba in 2021 and England then batted first. 

Root became weighed down by the pressure of the role at a time when Covid made it a joyless task, especially on the 2021-2022 Ashes tour with coach Chris Silverwood  

Public criticism of those two senior bowlers’ lengths in Adelaide and their subsequence axing by Andrew Strauss for Root’s last-chance saloon in the Caribbean all contributed to the disharmony. Root’s tactical decisions also left him open to criticism, such as bowling Jofra Archer for 42 overs in a single innings in Mount Maunganui in New Zealand in 2019.

Such was his longevity that he is simultaneously England’s best and worst captain statistically: winning 27 and losing 27. New Zealand’s Stephen Fleming, the man he has been asked to form a new captain-coach alliance with, also lost 27 times while only South Africa’s Graeme Smith, with 29 from 109, has been defeated more.

It must be said that there were times, such as the victory over India in Chennai in February 2021, their sixth in a row away from home, when it appeared Root’s team were on to something, but either side of that, the elusive success over Australia all England captains crave failed to materialise.

A caveat to that is that he didn’t have Stokes at all for the 2017-18 tour Down Under while England’s now ex-captain wasn’t at his best after physical and mental impairments in the build-up to 2021-22.

And covering for Stokes’ absence now is going to be the primary issue Root has to manage, initially working with the interim coach Marcus Trescothick for the upcoming series against Pakistan from August 19, with Fleming, England’s second choice to replace Brendon McCullum after Andy Flower, granted a delayed start date to spend time with family back in New Zealand.

Root arguably showed his cards by playing an extra batsman and doing away with frontline spinner Shoaib Bashir when standing in for an unselected Stokes at The Oval last month.

Whether he can do that in August when pitches are at their driest, and likely to offer turn, remains to be seen. Selection for Headingley will also perhaps give an indication on the future of Bashir, whose cause was trumpeted so loudly by Stokes and McCullum from a stage in his career when he had 10 first-class wickets at an average in excess of 70.   

No doubt wanting to get off to a good start with victory over Pakistan, Root might not be prepared to indulge this particular ECB development project at this stage.

At The Oval, he threw the ball to slow left-armer Jacob Bethell and filled in some spin overs himself.

Sam Curran, a player who has served Root well before and Stephen Fleming is very familiar with from their time together at Chennai Super Kings, could come into the England mix

The ECB went for Root to avoid over-burdening another Yorkshireman in Harry Brook (right) – England’s biggest match-winner

Root will work with new head coach Fleming when the Kiwi starts the role later in the year

Root smiled his way through those difficult circumstances, but he will be judged through a different prism now the selection calls will be his, made in conjunction with national selector Marcus North.

Sam Curran, a player who has served Root well in Tests before and Fleming is very familiar with from their time together at Chennai Super Kings, could come into the mix for the No 7 position along with George Hill – Root’s Yorkshire team-mate.

The ECB went for Root to avoid over-burdening another Yorkshireman in Harry Brook – England’s biggest match-winner – during a 12-month period which culminates with the 2027 Ashes. This despite Brook maintaining his personal form in leading England temporarily to the top of the Twenty20 rankings this month and resuscitating their 50-over form with series wins over Sri Lanka and India. Mark Butcher led the criticism from former England players yesterday, calling it a ‘retrograde step’.   

However, with the Root-Stokes axis now a thing of the past, a triumvirate of Root, Brook and Bethell has developed inside the dressing room, and it would be no surprise if one of the other two takes over the Test armband once next summer’s Australia series is out the way.

No one quite knows where the team goes from here, but in a re-energised Root, the ECB are hoping they have left it in safe hands.