Joe Root will go down as one England’s greatest players regardless of what happens during his second spell as Test captain.
At 35, and taking on the job that almost broke him by the end of his first stint in early 2022, this is a huge risk.
There is less than a year – and just 10 Tests – before the start of the next Ashes series in June next year. It’s a series that will define this current regime at the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) – notably director of cricket Rob Key, chief executive Richard Gould and chair Richard Thompson.
Unless this new England set-up, led by Root and incoming coach Stephen Fleming, lift the urn next summer it is curtains for the men at the top. There is literally no margin for error any more.
It’s why handing the captaincy to Root yet again is perhaps a gamble they really couldn’t afford to take.
