{"id":201506,"date":"2026-06-16T13:46:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T13:46:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/06\/16\/ill-take-england-captaincy-game-by-game-root\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T13:46:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T13:46:59","slug":"ill-take-england-captaincy-game-by-game-root","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/06\/16\/ill-take-england-captaincy-game-by-game-root\/","title":{"rendered":"I’ll take England captaincy game-by-game – Root"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Joe Root says he is taking the England Test captaincy on a “game-by-game basis” but admits he has been “slightly envious” of Ben Stokes for getting to work alongside Brendon McCullum.<\/b><\/p>\n

Root, who led England in a record 64 Tests between 2017 and 2022, will make a remarkable return to the role in Wednesday’s second Test against New Zealand following Ben Stokes’ involvement in an incident in a London nightclub.<\/p>\n

The 35-year-old said he is in a “very different place” to when he gave up the captaincy, since which he has played solely as a batter under Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum.<\/p>\n

“I have really enjoyed the last couple of days working with Baz in a slightly different space,” Root said.<\/p>\n

“That is one thing, in a small way, in a good way – I was slightly envious of that opportunity to work with someone like Baz in this sort of capacity. <\/p>\n

“It has been really cool the last couple of days.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Stokes, a close friend of Root’s, was left out of England’s squad after he breached the team’s midnight curfew the night after victory in the first Test and was present when a member of England’s security staff was struck by a Saracens rugby player.<\/p>\n

Root said he has spoken to Stokes since last week’s incident but he wanted to keep their conversations private. He maintained Stokes still holds the respect of the dressing room.<\/p>\n

Root’s previous tenure ended with a run of one win in 17 Tests and he said he would have rated the chances of him becoming skipper again a “0.1% chance” earlier this year.<\/p>\n

Last year, he said the “ship had sailed” in regards to him becoming England’s white-ball captain.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Wednesday, Root said: “Let’s not look beyond this week.<\/p>\n

“That’s the most important thing, trying to deliver a really good performance this week.<\/p>\n

“It’s quite a young group of players. So, [I want] to offer my experience in that capacity and focus purely on trying to deliver this week.”<\/p>\n

Root has been chosen over vice-captain Harry Brook, who was overlooked amid his own off-field controversy in Wellington when he was clocked by a bouncer the night before a white-ball game last winter. <\/p>\n

He will lead an inexperienced England team, including debutants Jordan Cox and Sonny Baker this week. <\/p>\n

It is still unclear whether wicketkeeper Jamie Smith, whose wife is expecting their second child, will be available. If not, a third debutant, Somerset’s James Rew, will play.<\/p>\n

Root has previously said he stepped down as skipper because he had a “very unhealthy relationship” with the job, but said he only had a “little think” before confirming he would return this time.<\/p>\n

“The only thinking that came to my mind is what is the best thing for this team, and is it going to have a big effect on me and my personal life, and which outweighed the other,” he said.<\/p>\n

Speaking of his previous tenure, he added: “We played around 20 Test matches in those Covid environments and watched the rest of the world go back to normality around you. <\/p>\n

“You are living a very different way to the rest of society. <\/p>\n

“Over time that took its toll on the group but also myself. <\/p>\n

“I found I ended up being so consumed with everything I wasn’t the person I wanted to be and it was the right time to step away, not just because our performances weren’t where they needed to be.<\/p>\n

“It was a great opportunity for a fresh start for English cricket and was absolutely the right decision.<\/p>\n

“It is going to be cool to experience it this side of it, the captaincy side of it with Baz and with this coaching group. <\/p>\n

“I have never had more fun and got more out of a group of coaches than this one.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Joe Root says he is taking the England Test captaincy on a “game-by-game basis” but admits he has been “slightly envious” of Ben Stokes for getting to work alongside Brendon McCullum. Root, who led England in a record 64 Tests between 2017 and 2022, will make a remarkable return to the role in Wednesday’s second […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-201506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nI'll take England captaincy game-by-game - Root - Tahrir News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/06\/16\/ill-take-england-captaincy-game-by-game-root\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"I'll take England captaincy game-by-game - Root\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Joe Root says he is taking the England Test captaincy on a “game-by-game basis” but admits he has been “slightly envious” of Ben Stokes for getting to work alongside Brendon McCullum. 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