Why it would be wrong to sacrifice England captain Joe Root

I do not see how changing the captain is going to make the big difference.

Nor do I see any viable alternatives.

Root might not be the best captain in the world and his selections, decision-making and tactics have been criticised.

There is no reason why one man should be outrageously gifted in two departments, after all, and Root is undoubtedly one of the most gifted batsmen.

But nor is he this Captain Calamity figure that some are making out.

Statistically, the Yorkshireman is the most successful captain in England’s Test history in terms of Test wins (27 from 59 matches), and he perhaps deserves a little more respect and recognition than he is presently receiving.

A captain, in my opinion, is invariably only as good as the tools at his disposal.

And, in terms of the batting particularly, Root is working less with finely-tuned power drills than with defective screwdrivers.

The key questions are these: 1) does Root want to continue in a role that he has held for almost five years and 2) is there a superior alternative?

To the first of those questions, only Root has the answer.

He looked suitably careworn after the Ashes slipped away in the Boxing Day Test, which left England 3-0 down with two games to play, and he may come to the conclusion that he has had enough if the powers-that-be do not come to that conclusion for him.

Interviewed straight after the match, I thought he spoke well when he effectively postponed any decision until after the series.

“My energy has to be all about trying to win the next game,” said Root.

“I can’t be selfish and start thinking about myself.

“More than anything, we’ve got to make sure we end up coming away from this tour with something.”

Although there is nothing whatsoever to suggest that this might happen, and I promise that I have not been on the festive beer, things would perhaps look a bit different if England can, for example, win one and draw one of the remaining two Tests, thereby at least putting some gloss of respectability on a difficult tour.

Recent stats, however, tell a sobering story.

England have won only one of Root’s last 12 Tests in charge.

He has lost seven of the eight Tests that he has captained in Australia.

England lost nine Tests during 2021 and have lost three series in a row.

It might have been four series in a row but for the farce over the abandoned final Test against India at Old Trafford, which will just as farcially be re-staged at Edgbaston next summer with India holding a 2-1 lead. Can’t wait...

But who are the alternatives knocking down the door, and what reason is there to suppose that they would do better?

The only viable choice would seem to be Ben Stokes – a talisman, certainly, but a man no more able to work miracles with defective tools than Root, and at what cost to the great all-rounder’s form?

The one thing we definitely know about Root is that his form – remarkably when you think about it, given the fragile state of the English batting – has not been affected by the burdens of captaincy.

Root has just scored 1,708 Test runs in the calendar year at an average of 61, a tally eclipsed only by Mohammad Yousuf and the great Sir Vivian Richards.

Whether Stokes’s form would stand up as well remains to be seen; it could fairly be argued that it has not been that great in recent times anyway, although problems with injury and mental health have had an obvious effect on Stokes’s output.

If Root’s form was suffering it would be a different story.

His runs are clearly more important to the team than what he brings to the side through captaincy alone.

But who else is there, when you really come to think about it?

Stuart Broad? Rory Burns? Or perhaps some leftfield specialist to step in as leader.

What’s Mike Brearley up to these days, does anybody know?

Granted, he is 79 and hasn’t played for 40 years, but, hey, needs must...

On a serious note, the issues, in my opinion, stem from problems with the system.

Our county game is simply not set up properly to provide the top batsmen and bowlers that would give Root the best opportunity to succeed in the job.

Some slack should also be cut in that respect towards the coach, Chris Silverwood. For whatever you think about the quality of the captain and coach, the system is actively working against their best interests.

If the England and Wales Cricket Board prioritised the County Championship (the recognised pathway to Test level) instead of treating it as a necessary evil, condensing the competition into the start and end of the season and cutting the number of matches, then our Test cricket would be in a better place.

We would have better batsmen and better spin bowlers too.

More durable pitches would not go amiss. Less focus on money-spinning nonsense such as The Hundred would certainly be welcomed - at least in terms of the men’s version, for the women’s has certainly had obvious benfits.

At the same time, it is not all down to the county system in the sense that the system did not select what, by common consent, were the wrong XIs for the first two Tests in Brisbane and Adelaide, by which time the series was effectively done and dusted. The captain and coach must shoulder that blame.

Silverwood’s position would appear to be precarious; Root’s less so primarily due to the paucity of alternatives.

For as long as that remains so, and the captaincy is not affecting his form, and the desire to lead is as strong as it was, then I will not be joining in the chorus calling for his removal.

That is both the easy solution and no solution.