Root maps out a road to success

England’s new captain banks on Stokes

THEY spent their adolescence playing jokes on each other. Now they have been handed the responsibility of putting some spice back into England’s mid-table Test team.

Looking back into the formative stages of their long-term friendship, Joe Root fondly recalls his new vice-captain Ben Stokes spiking his Coca-Cola with Peri Peri sauce during the post-tournament meal at the Bunbury Festival back in 2006.

They were team-mates for the North; Jos Buttler played for the West; Sam Billings for the South.

‘We all ended up at the Bunbury at the same age group and we all seemed to get on pretty well. It has been nice over the last few years to get him back a few times,’ said Root smiling.

Their paths first crossed in an Under13 match between Cumbria and Yorkshire.

‘Ben was a little podgy, medium-pacer then. He’s a slightly different player now but he was always in your face, letting you know he was there and that was great to play against,’ recalled Root, who believes Stokes’ aggression need not be muzzled despite the position of responsibility.

‘Naturally, we will think of different things and we will complement each other well.

‘He’s very in your face and sometimes you need that brashness. He will offer a slightly different angle as vice-captain.

‘He’s a very passionate young man who loves playing for England. That has come across in the way he goes about things and I would like to think it will continue in his new role.

‘Having seen him go about his business in recent years, I think he has matured into a genuine Test all-rounder.

‘His batting feeds off his bowling on occasions and vice versa.’

Root inherits an England team that is currently fourth in the official ICC rankings, although they would slip to fifth in the event of New Zealand defeating South Africa next month.

While his cheeky-chappy image remains, there is a serious side to his character. With 11 Test hundreds, 4,594 runs at an average of 52.8, Root is a serious cricketer.

He made an immediate impression on his team-mates before his first Test against in Nagpur in 2012 when coach Andy Flower asked him to present his thoughts on how to combat India’s vaunted attack on home soil. It was, unquestionably, an early indicator of his leadership credentials. Root said: ‘Flower did put me on the spot. I was nervous. We were split into small groups and he asked me to lead my group. I remember looking around and thinking: “This is odd”.

‘Six years earlier, I’d missed school to watch Kevin Pieterson hit an Ashes winning hundred at The Oval, so it was surreal to be put in that situation.’

England’s new skipper is certainly a man who knows his own mind.

‘From a young age, I’ve always known my game well,’ he added.

‘Coming from a club like Yorkshire, you are generally taught to say what you think.

‘If you don’t say what you think, then someone else generally does. There is no point having team meetings where no one speaks because you don’t learn anything.’