What England can expect from captain Root
What can England expect from Joe Root's leadership, based on his first full-time spell in charge?
England will once again be led by Joe Root when they face Pakistan at Headingley this week. Root has taken over the captaincy from Ben Stokes, who resigned following the series against New Zealand earlier this summer. Root has the distinction of being England's most successful Test captain, having won more matches than any other captain in history.
However, his win percentage is slightly affected by one win in his last 17 Tests. Root has had a better record than Stokes against modern-day heavyweights Australia and India, but he falls further down the list in terms of win percentage in those matches. Root's teams have a lower run-rate compared to those under Stokes, and he averages fewer runs per wicket lost.
Root's approach to captaincy seems to have shifted since the last four years, with a focus on minimizing fear and allowing players to express their talent more freely. Root's bowling deployment favors spin, particularly at home, which may affect his ability to call upon quality pace and spin options for this Pakistan series. Despite these factors, Root averages almost 47 runs per Test in charge, slightly down from his average of 53 when not in charge.
He remains the frontrunner to surpass Sachin Tendulkar's Test run record of 15,921 runs heading into the Pakistan series.
Written by urgent.news from BBC Sport's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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