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AIPROPX ReportBBC Sport · 2h ago
Root has proved he is captain England need, but probably do not deserve
Cricket Correspondent at Lord's Published 1 hour ago At the back of the Compton Stand at Lord's is an enormous picture of Ben Stokes.
In the snap, Stokes unleashes a bouncer to a flinching Mohammed Siraj, the India tailender. It was taken during England's heart-stopping 22-run win on this ground last summer.
England's defeat of India was all about Stokes. He made contributions with the bat in both innings, ran out Rishabh Pant with a direct hit and put in a trademark marathon bowling spell on the final day. Stokes came to the post-match media conference with blood seeping through his sock.
Throughout Stokes' tenure as England captain, the question loomed of how anyone would eventually go about succeeding him.
For better or worse, Stokes became the all-encompassing figure in the team, for his performances on the field and what he said or did off it. It was hard to imagine how anyone could emerge from his shadow without having their leadership compared to the talismanic all-rounder.
England are little more than a week into the post-Stokes era and there is already no doubt about the strength of leadership at the helm. This is Joe Root's team now.
The last thing Root would have wanted at the beginning of his second reign as skipper was the Brydon Carse controversy.
Yet, the Yorkshireman has shown himself to be the captain English cricket needs, yet probably does not deserve.
Root's measured, assured and honest address to the media at Lord's on Tuesday was the most impressive display of leadership from anyone connected with the England team in a long time.
Perhaps Root is helped by the circumstances. If Brendon McCullum was still around, he would have been pushed in front of cameras, but McCullum has gone and his replacement Stephen Fleming is yet to arrive. It leaves Root as unquestionably the man in charge.
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He said as much last week before the Headingley Test - that the biggest challenge in resuming the captaincy was overcoming the perceptions others have of his leadership.
It is not that Root was an awful captain first time around - far from it. It is just the abiding memory is an awful ending of only one win from 17 matches, a horror run that left Root and his team broken.
Leeds was a dream restart, an innings win over Pakistan wrapped up inside three days.
But the one-sided nature of that victory did not give Root room to show what kind of on-field captain he will be this time around. His best act at Headingley was to win the toss and, after Ollie Robinson took a wicket with the first ball of the match, England were on top.
There have been glimpses of what the New Root could become.
Stokes' preference for naming an England team two days before a Test has gone, at least for now. England are likely to be unchanged at Lord's, though that will not be confirmed until the toss.
Root has removed himself from first slip and now fields at mid-off. It may only be a temporary move, but it puts him closer to his bowlers. On the first morning at Headingley, Root yanked a wayward Jofra Archer from the attack after only two overs. It is hard to imagine he would have done the same to either Stuart Broad or James Anderson.
There was a hint of funkiness in the field, albeit an overhang from Root's first spell as captain. The dismissal of Azan Awais in Pakistan's second innings was the eighth time a seamer under Root has had a catch taken at leg slip - the most of any captain since such data began being collected in 2006.
Asked what the difference was between the captaincy of Stokes and Root, fast bowler Josh Tongue said: "It's very chilled out there." Tongue probably did not mean to imply Root brings a greater calmness than Stokes, yet few would argue he has taken the intensity down a notch or two.
For all the impressive media conferences, bowling changes and leg slips, Root will be judged on results, and a win this week would give England their first series triumph since 2024.
There will be plenty of attention on the Lord's pitch, so heavily criticised after England's win against New Zealand. On Wednesday, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) chairman Mark Nicholas and director of cricket Rob Lynch were seen taking a good look at the surface.
Pakistan should be better than their showing at Headingley, mainly because they cannot get much worse. They are boosted by the return of captain Babar Azam from a hand injury and have won the previous two Tests they have played here.
England will want to build on the green shoots of recovery that sprouted in Leeds.
Jordan Cox impressed at number three and is highly rated by the management. There could be a logjam in the top order when Jacob Bethell returns to fitness, so all of Cox, Emilio Gay, Dan Lawrence and Jamie Smith will want to ensure they are not squeezed out.
Root said his quartet of fast bowlers "do not know how good they can be". That foursome now have the opportunity to show they can be England's first-choice attack in a range of conditions. It is a bad time for Carse to put himself out of the picture.
As for Root, no man has more runs or hundreds on this ground. Now he returns as the captain, already leading by example this week.
"When you have the privilege of being a leader within a team, you want to build something bigger than just winning," he said. "I feel like I didn't do that very well first time around.
"There's a lot to look forward to, there's a lot to work hard towards. I guess that's the fun side of it."
For Root and his players, following the past few days, the fun side will simply be returning to playing cricket.
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