Root 'really excited' to lead England again against Pakistan
Speaking on the morning of the opening Test against Pakistan, Joe Root says he's "really excited" to be England captain for a second time and has called on his team to build on the foundations laid by former skipper Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum.
Joe Root is excited to lead England again in the Test series against Pakistan. He has called on his team to build on the foundations laid by former skipper Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum.
The series marks a new era for England, with Root returning as captain and Marcus Trescothick in interim charge before Stephen Fleming takes over. According to Yahoo Sports, Stuart Broad has predicted a comfortable 3-0 whitewash for England, labelling Pakistan a "poor side".
Pakistan's preparations have been undermined by the loss of Babar Azam for the opening Test, with the newly reinstated captain ruled out after being struck on the hand during a warm-up fixture. Both sides sit in the bottom half of the World Test Championship standings, England seventh and Pakistan eighth.
Brief written by urgent.news from BBC Sport, Yahoo Sports — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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