We’re Rooting for you, skipper
New England captain Joe Root photographed in the Long Room at Lord’s by Philip Brown
Strap yourselves in and get ready for a rollercoaster ride because the one thing England will never be under Joe root and Ben Stokes is dull.
It may be a gamble for andrew Strauss to risk overburdening England’s two most important players with the responsibilities of high office at a time when they are expected to prioritise all three formats of the game.
But in yesterday making root test captain as expected and Stokes his deputy, Strauss has ensured life will always be eventful as England try to stop ‘stagnating’ and get back on the road towards regaining No 1 standing.
the risk, of course, is that too much will be expected of root — a batsman as integral to England’s hopes of winning the Champions trophy this summer as he is for the ashes next winter — particularly as he manages a back condition.
and in making Stokes vicecaptain, there is a danger that England could shackle the free- spirited heartbeat of their side who himself has said, admittedly tongue in cheek, that leadership is for ‘boring people like alastair Cook’.
Yet trevor Bayliss will have no worries. He loves his players to show character and there is no question that the more attacking, gung-ho policy likely to be preferred by root and Stokes will suit the England coach.
Bayliss will not want any compromise from root, who combines a mischievous sense of fun with a fierce competitive spirit, or Stokes, who could still at any time represent an accident waiting to happen. It is significant Stokes has been made the official deputy because it means England have no qualms about him taking over, say, for an ashes test next winter should root wake up with a recurrence of that pesky back complaint.
Strauss and the selectors could easily have fudged the issue, let Stokes carry on exerting his enormous presence on the side but then quietly asked Stuart Broad to provide a safe pair of hands if ever root were injured.
Instead England, with Bayliss to the fore, have decided Stokes can become ever more influential and mature in the process by being the man to take over officially if ever his great friend root needs protecting or resting.
Stokes has been a favourite of the australian ever since the Durham man played a joke on Bayliss during their introductory trip to Spain ahead of the 2015 ashes when he pretended to thump Mark Wood.
Bayliss was startled, but — when he realised what had happened — delighted by a cricketer who possesses the ‘mongrel’ the coach would like to see more of throughout this England team.
there is still a nagging sense that the promotion of the dynamic duo may have come a year too early and that it was in theirs and England’s best interests for Cook to remain at the helm until after the big date with australia next winter.
But once Cook had made it clear his captaincy race was run England had no alternative but to turn to the still boyish-looking 26-year-old who Strauss identified as the next captain as soon as he became team director in 2015.
It creates the tantalising prospect of root and Stokes up against Steve Smith and David Warner, the Yorkshireman’s old sparring partner, in a clash of leadership duos unlikely to back down however hot the ashes battle.
root, of course, must remain true to himself. He should not be afraid of the sort of spiky confrontations that have punctuated his career even though it is to be hoped they will not take place in a Birmingham bar, as his clash with Warner infamously did ahead of the 2013 ashes.
and there is no reason why the captain cannot maintain the sense of fun that has seen root at the forefront of dressing-room humour, whether it is saluting Stokes — in reference to his clash with Marlon Samuels — or pulling down Broad’s shorts during the daily games of football that England love so much.
there is no point in root being a chameleon or worrying about creating a culture very different from the conservative methods of Cook and, indeed, Strauss when they enjoyed success with strict, attritional plans.
root is fortunate in that Cook is sure to be the perfect senior professional, highly likely to score a heap of runs at the top of the order and without the ego to cause any sort of problem for his successor.
But immediate success is likely to depend more on the other two senior men — Broad and Jimmy anderson — because root already knows bowlers win matches, as he found to his cost when Middlesex chased 472 to defeat Yorkshire in one of the new captain’s first matches in charge of any side.
anderson ended England’s chastening test tour of India on the sidelines with the shoulder injury that has plagued him since last summer and his ability to lead England’s attack for at least another year is integral to root’s ashes hopes.
England have made the right choice at arguably the wrong time. But in these days when cricket has to compete for sporting primacy like never before, they have placed their faith in two exciting cricketers who will always entertain, whether they win or lose. and that can only be a good thing.