STAY AWAY FROM SHORT LEG, JOE!

WHAT the last two days have shown is that, when it comes to captaincy, Joe Root is still a work in progress. I don’t mean that as an insult: he has only been in the job for a year and is learning the ropes. But this game has shown us both the good and the not so good. I thought he made a couple of brave calls. For instance, he backed Ben Stokes to take the second new ball ahead of Jimmy Anderson, because he felt Stokes was charging in and making things happen. Not many captains would deny Anderson the new ball in England. I also like that he has been able to persuade Anderson and Stuart Broad — who have nearly 1,000 Test wickets between them — to pitch the ball up a bit more than usual. That is not easy, because they can both be a bit stubborn. Then there was the bit of captaincy to get rid of Sarfraz Ahmed just before tea. He knew the Pakistani captain is a bit of a happy hooker, and put a couple of men out for just that shot. Stokes bounced him, and the plan worked a treat. But there have been some problems too. England spent the winter bowling on flat pitches, in 35oC heat, with the Kookaburra — and kept using Chris Woakes. Now, under cloudy skies, on seaming pitches, with the Duke ball, they leave out Woakes and go with Mark Wood. Captaincy is never black and white, of course. There are always good reasons why decisions are made. But that one — like choosing to bat first — is certainly a matter of debate. And I could not understand why Root at one point decided to go under the helmet at short leg. There are only two positions a captain should find himself: in the slips, where he can see what the ball is doing, or at mid-off, where he can talk to his bowlers. Short leg does not help you with either. And it is a sad state of affairs when England can’t find someone else to go under the helmet. If they feel Mark Stoneman is not very good in that position, they should make him get better. There is plenty of time for Root to improve. But, as he is discovering, leadership can be a lonely place when things are not going well.