Root's second England captaincy begins vs Pakistan without Stokes
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Joe Root begins his second stint as England Test captain — a role he previously held from 2017-2022 — in the first Test against Pakistan at Headingley on Wednesday (first ball 11am, live on Sky Sports), with Marcus Trescothick as interim coach and Stephen Fleming not taking permanent charge until the South Africa winter tour.
- Ben Stokes has stepped away from Test cricket to focus on his white-ball head coach role, leaving Dan Lawrence to replace him in the XI for the opener; the article notes his 'all-round aptitude' and ability to dig England out of trouble will be near-impossible to replicate, though Stokes says he could return for The Ashes next summer.
- Root said he plans to retain Bazball's 'fear-taking' ethos but add 'situational awareness,' explicitly telling Sky Sports' Michael Atherton that his England will understand when to play for a draw — a contrast to Stokes' stance that he would never play for one.
- Root is England's winning-most Test captain with 27 victories, one ahead of Michael Vaughan and three clear of both Stokes and Sir Alastair Cook, though Sky Sports' Mark Butcher called going back to him 'retrograde'.
- England have lost seven and won just two of their last 10 Tests, with both wins coming in two-day collapses, including a defeat at Trent Bridge in June that sealed a rare home series loss to New Zealand.
- The three-Test series continues at Lord's (August 27-31) and Edgbaston (September 9-13), with England chasing their first Ashes win since 2015 next summer.
Why it matters: Root inherits a side that has dropped seven of its last 10 Tests and lost a home series to New Zealand, but he is statistically England's most successful captain with 27 wins and now controls both the batting template and team culture after the Bazball experiment ended with coach Brendon McCullum's departure and Stokes' retirement.
Ask SkimNews
