England Test skipper Joe Root stepped down from the position with immediate effect on Friday. This didn’t surprise many as they saw what was coming. Root was already under so much pressure after the team’s defeat to Australia 0-4 in the Ashes. This was followed by a 0-1 defeat to West Indies in March. Root was under the firing line and was taking too much pressure. It must be noted that Chris Silverwood was first to get the sack after which Root was also in the line; nonetheless, he wasn’t sacked.
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“He should have stepped down at the end of the Ashes, really. They tried to insulate his captaincy by making some changes. But I think it was pretty evident that Joe came to the end of the road,” former England cricketer Michael Atherton said. He also said that he had seen Root sulking all alone in England balcony during Granada Test.
“There was this particular moment in the Granada Test match when Ben Foakes was run out and the team was sliding to defeat. The cameras panned in on Joe Root in England’s balcony and he sat there with his head in his hands looking quite distraught and despairing. You thought, at that moment, that the realization comes to him at last,” said Atherton.
“I’m not surprised really. It had got to this stage at the end of the Ashes, really. In the West Indies tour, it was pretty clear that a change needed to be made. There comes a moment in every England captain’s life where you realise you’ve given it your all and can’t do anymore,” said Atherton on Sky Sports.
After being appointed as Cook’s successor in 2017, Root led the side to a number of famous series victories, including a 4-1 home series win over India in 2018 and a 3-1 triumph away to South Africa in 2020. In 2018 he became the first England Men’s Captain to win a Test series in Sri Lanka since 2001, a feat he went on to repeat with a 2-0 victory in Sri Lanka in 2021.
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