Joe Root believes his decision to step down as England Test captain has been vindicated after a remarkable end to 2022 for Ben Stokes’ red-ball side.
England became the first visiting team to win three matches in a Test series in Pakistan this week, taking it to nine wins from 10 Tests since Stokes replaced Root as captain in April.
Before Root’s decision to quit, England suffered a demoralizing 1-0 series loss to the West Indies and were beaten 4-0 by Australia in the Ashes.
With England now winning plaudits for their fearless style under coach Brendon McCullum and captain Stokes, Root has no regrets about ending his time at the helm.
“We weren’t performing,” Root recalled in an interview with Sky Sports. “We weren’t delivering what I thought we were capable of, and that had a massive impact on me even away from cricket.
“If you can’t even be yourself, then you’re not able to deliver what that role requires, to lead in the right way or to lead a group of players.
“For a number of reasons, it was the right thing to do, to step down. Someone has to throw absolutely everything into it.
“Once I made that decision, it was pretty clear that it was the right decision and I haven’t looked back. I gave everything to that role and threw everything into it. I’m really proud of the way I went about it.”
England’s aggressive approach was on display as they posted their fifth-highest ever total (657) in their opening match in Pakistan, and Root feels the team’s enjoyment of their new style has paid dividends.
“Brendon has a very aggressive approach to playing the game, I think Ben is even more aggressive! It’s exciting,” Root said.
“When you’re 10, 12 or even younger, you’re playing in the back garden – that’s the feeling – that raw pleasure of hitting the ball, bowling fast or spinning it for miles. This is something you should never do. I lose as a player.
“It’s easy to forget, in the noise of high-pressure environments and demands to constantly perform and win. But it’s so important to enjoy what you do and you’re more likely to get the best out of yourself and this is something we have paid a lot of attention to”.
England will be looking to reclaim the Ashes on home soil in 2023, with the series kicking off at Edgbaston on June 16, and Root is enthusiastic about their prospects.
“Everything goes up. The interest around Test cricket in this country goes up a notch,” Root said of playing in a home Ashes series.
“It’s a great opportunity for us and with the way we played cricket under Ben last summer, it’s a very exciting place to be with a big series like that coming up.
“We’ve proved to ourselves that we can do it against two of the best teams in the world in our conditions, so it would be great to take on Australia and take it one step further again.”
