LONDON : England Test captain Joe Root says he will retain the attacking principles of the “Bazball” era while making targeted adjustments as he begins his second stint as skipper following Ben Stokes’ retirement from international cricket.
Root was reappointed captain after Stokes stepped away from international cricket during England’s Test series defeat by New Zealand in June. The 35-year-old previously led England between 2017 and 2022 and also served as stand-in captain during one Test earlier this year.
Rather than overhaul the aggressive style introduced by Stokes and former head coach Brendon McCullum, Root said he intends to build on the progress made over the past four years.
“It’ll be trying to continue some of the good things we have done over that period (since 2022) and not finding ourselves back to where we were before Baz and Ben took over,” Root said in an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) interview.
“Evolving and tweaking things to get us to where we want to be and really competing against the top nations consistently over a long period of time.
“The wrong thing to do would be to completely rip everything up that we’ve done over the last four years.
“There’s so much good stuff that Ben and Brendon did and changed the way we look at the game and see the game.”
McCullum’s tenure transformed England’s approach to Test cricket with an ultra-aggressive style, but the team failed to win a Test series against Australia or India during the Stokes-McCullum partnership, culminating in a heavy Ashes defeat in Australia.
McCullum was dismissed as England’s Test coach after the New Zealand series, with former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming set to take over later this year.
Root will lead England in the upcoming three-Test series against Pakistan.
The final months of the Stokes-McCullum era were also overshadowed by disciplinary issues, with Stokes and Gus Atkinson omitted from the second Test against New Zealand after breaching a team curfew following a nightclub incident.
Root suggested there would be a firmer approach under his leadership while preserving the positive culture established over the previous four years.
“I’ve benefitted hugely from that as a player so to think we have to start all over again would be wrong. But there are areas we want to sharpen up a little bit and become a little bit sterner with,” he said.
“The last four years is the most fun I’ve had in cricket and most of that is down to the way they got me to see the game.
“Clearly the last little while is fresh in everyone’s minds but you’re looking at a four-year period where we did a lot of good things.”
