As England’s batting coach for a good deal of Joe Root’s first spell as Test captain, I saw directly how conscientious he was in the role. It was impossible not to feel for him at the end, when results dried up and he was almost alone on a burning deck. Whenever I am asked who my favourite current cricketer is, I struggle to look beyond Root.
He is such a grounded individual and clearly a fabulous player. He is also his own best coach, always first in the nets and last out of them, forever thinking about his game and how to improve those one-percenters. He has a wonderful sense of humour and, in his second spell as captain, my hope is that he is able to have more fun in the role; that he can see the bigger picture and not get bogged down by it.
Playing under Ben Stokes should hopefully have taught him that. As badly as the whole thing ended, the better aspects of the environment under Stokes and Brendon McCullum are worth persevering with. Clearly things are very different now.
In his previous stint, Root was blessed with having Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad at his disposal. Although it was not all positive. Being able to turn to them potentially stymied both the development of other bowlers and meant Root was less intuitive than he might have been.
It often felt as if he was one over behind the game rather than thinking one over ahead. Plenty will come down to the relationship he has with Stephen Fleming when he eventually comes in as head coach. When Trevor Bayliss was in that role, his natural way was to be more in the background; to ask questions and make little interjections but also leave plenty of space for individuals to come to the fore.
That approach allows those players with stronger minds and voices to lead. But looking back, there was a view from some of us on the sidelines that Root – and very possibly Alastair Cook before him – needed a more proactive approach from their head coach. I would expect a quality individual like Fleming – both an experienced coach and a former Test captain himself – to challenge Root and also look to broaden the number of players thinking like leaders in the dressing room.
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