Daily Mail

IN LAST-CHANCE SALOON

Root must lift England’s fortunes with new hands-on coach or face captaincy axe

- PAUL NEWMAN Cricket Correspond­ent

There have not been many england captains handed the chance to win a third Ashes series after losing his first two in charge but Joe root could be the exception.

Not even a thumping in the final Test at the Oval, it seems, would be enough for england to alter their conviction that he remains the best man for the job despite seeing the urn disappear to Australia at Old Trafford on Sunday for at least another two years.

Instead england want to again prioritise red-ball cricket and offer root increased support by appointing a much more hands-on coach who will take the lead in strategy when Trevor Bayliss leaves after this week’s final Test.

When the dust settled yesterday on the crushing disappoint­ment of Australia completing the fourth Test win that guarantees them the Ashes for the first time in this country since 2001, england were left with big questions to answer.

Not least whether a captain in root who was so desperate to follow his fellow man of Sheffield Michael Vaughan in winning a home Ashes really is the best man to lead an overhaul of the underperfo­rming Test side.

The harsh reality is that england look further away than ever from emulating Andrew Strauss’s side in becoming the No 1 ranked Test team in the world and have gone backwards under a captain who does not seem to be getting any better at the job.

The signs at Old Trafford were worrying. england looked flat and uninspired in the field despite root’s best efforts to cajole them when they should have been inspired to go for Australia’s throat by the miracle of headingley.

Then it was left to Ben Stokes, the emotional leader of this team, to deliver an address in a huddle before Australia’s second innings when root’s reported two rollocking­s of his team in Manchester had seemingly fallen on deaf ears.

And root’s lack of tactical acumen was summed up after tea on the fourth day when he allowed the Test to drift by bowling Craig Overton and Jack Leach in tandem after Jofra Archer and Stuart Broad had got them back in the hunt.

Perhaps the biggest concern is root’s batting, which sees him average 40.87 as captain compared to 52.80 before he succeeded Alastair Cook. And at Old Trafford he became the first Ashes captain in history to make three ducks in a series. root has a good win record as captain — but the problem is his loss rate is just as high. Yet there are no viable captaincy alternativ­es to a man who remains england’s best batsman. Not even his deputy Stokes, who should be allowed to lead from the ranks rather than be burdened with a job that could destroy his allround influence.

The absence of options, of course, is a negative reason not to make a change and team director Ashley Giles is not the type to prevaricat­e if he believes that action should be taken ahead of a new Test cycle that will climax with the next Ashes in two years.

Giles has shown himself to be a decisive and even ruthless figure since he succeeded Strauss in sacking Test batting coach Mark ramprakash ahead of the Ashes and telling Paul Farbrace to leave before the World Cup when he joined Warwickshi­re.

Giles said before the first Ashes Test at edgbaston that the Strauss-inspired prioritisi­ng of white-ball cricket that culminated in that pulsating World Cup final victory at Lord’s in July would be changed to reflect the adverse effect it has had on the Test team.

Now, in the wake of the defeat which has dashed hopes of a dream World Cup-Ashes double in the same summer, Giles is prepared to back root by arming him with the tools he will need to get the Test show back on the right road.

To that end he will look for the best coach to complement root when he begins the urgent process of finding a successor to Bayliss as soon as england’s attempt to at least draw this Ashes series at the Oval this week is over.

Bayliss fulfilled the brief handed to him by Strauss by winning the World Cup and developed an excellent relationsh­ip with eoin Morgan, who was very much in charge of the white-ball team, but his hands- off methods have not been felt to suit root.

Now Giles will seek the best man to guide his Test captain when he interviews candidates that will include bowling coach Chris Silverwood, Ottis Gibson, Mickey Arthur, Mike hesson, Graham Ford and, possibly, Andrew McDonald.

The 2005 Ashes hero maintains there should be one head coach with three assistants below him — Graham Thorpe and Paul Collingwoo­d look certain to get assistant roles — rather than split the job, which may reduce his options with so many of the world’s best coaches preferring to concentrat­e on franchises rather than internatio­nal cricket.

Giles planned to ask Silverwood, who remains among the favourites, to take over as interim coach for the tour of New Zealand in October and November but such is the urgency, a full-time appointmen­t could be brought forward. england also plan to take their first-choice team for the two Tests rather than rest key players.

There is also the question of whether Giles has to sort out the apparent tension that has developed between Bayliss and national selector ed Smith over team selections and batting orders.

The sight of Bayliss admitting ahead of the third Test that he wanted Jason roy to bat in the middle order, a view believed to be privately echoed by root, when Smith clearly wanted him to open was the first indication all was not well.

Now Giles has to decide whether Smith’s influence should be restricted to picking a squad and handing it over to the captain and coach to confirm the final XI, as tradition dictates, or whether he is given the extra power he appears to want.

There are clearly big decisions ahead as england plot their Test recovery. But it is a mission that looks certain to be led by root.

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