Joe Root is set to be named as England’s Test captain. Root will succeed Alastair Cook, who last week stepped down after four years in the job. The England Cricket Board (ECB) is expected to confirm the appointment on Monday.
Root, 25, had been the front runner to follow Cook in the Test role, having been made vice-captain in 2015.
He met with Andrew Strauss, England’s director of cricket, last week and was offered the job over the weekend but will have to wait five months for his first outing as captain, when England host South Africa in July.
There were few serious alternatives to Root, who has emerged as England’s star batsman since making his debut under Cook in 2012.
Ben Stokes and Stuart Broad also met with Strauss, with Stokes a potential vice-captain for Root.
During England’s previous Test series, the 4-0 defeat in India before Christmas, Cook endorsed Root as the next in line.
“I think Joe Root is ready to captain England,” Cook said.
“He is ready because he is a clued-up guy and he has the respect of everyone in the changing room. You never know until you actually experience it and everything that comes with the England captaincy. You are thrown in at the deep end and you kind of sink or swim. Nothing can prepare you for it. He has not got much captaincy experience but that does not mean everything.”
Root inherits a talented side from Cook but one that has, in its previous captain’s words, “stagnated” over recent months.
England lost eight of the 17 Tests they played in 2016, including six of the most recent eight. Cook admitted a “new voice” was required in the dressing room.
While Root has little captaincy experience - he has led for only four first-class games - he is respected by his peers as a senior player and has been the team’s vice-captain for almost two years.
It would have been a major surprise had he not been appointed. Broad, one potential candidate for the position, described Root as “ideal” for the role, while Stokes has previously suggested he harboured few captaincy aspirations.
“You have to be boring like Cooky if you want to be captain,” he said when asked about the role on the recent tour of India.
There may also be some concerns over Root’s workload.
As a key batsman in all three formats of the game - and as a new father - the demands on his time and energy are already substantial. But he can point to the example of Virat Kohli, in particular, and argue that the increased responsibility may improve his individual performance.
Root will have some time to settle into his new role.
England do not play Test cricket again until July, with a four-match series against South Africa and three-match series against West Indies providing time for Root to shape his new team before an Ashes tour towards the end of the year
His relationship with the coach, Trevor Bayliss, may prove crucial. While Cook and Bayliss did not always appear to be in unison over England’s style of play, it is anticipated that Root will adopt a bolder, more aggressive approach that may be more to Bayliss’ liking.
Source - ESPN cricinfo
