Joe Root returns to England captaincy with a changed Test blueprint

Joe Root is returning to England’s Test captaincy for a second spell, beginning with a three-match home series against Pakistan. BBC Sport’s analysis of his previous tenure shows a leader with more Test victories than any other England captain, but also a record that changed sharply toward the end of his first period in charge.

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Root finished his initial 65 Tests as captain with the same number of wins and defeats. Among England players who have led the side in more than 30 Tests, his winning percentage ranks sixth, behind Mike Brearley, Ben Stokes, Michael Vaughan, Peter May and Andrew Strauss. His overall figure was damaged by a closing sequence of one win in 17 Tests; across his first 47 matches, his record was better than Stokes’s.

Results against Australia and India were a particular weakness. England won 29% of their Tests against those opponents under Root, placing him behind Stokes at 35%, Alastair Cook at 38% and Brearley at 57%. Root will also begin the new tenure without several players available during his first spell, including James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Stokes.

The more immediate tactical question is how much England’s batting will retain from the past four years under coach Brendon McCullum and Stokes. During Root’s first captaincy, England scored at 3.16 runs per over and played attacking shots 23% of the time. Under Stokes, those figures rose to 4.40 and 42%. Root said after his appointment that the recent era had changed how he views the game, particularly by removing fear and encouraging players to express their talent in important moments.

BBC Sport’s figures also show that caution did not automatically produce greater output in Root’s first spell. England averaged 29 runs per wicket under him, compared with 34 under Stokes and 40 under Strauss. The team lost a wicket every 54.9 balls during Root’s tenure, better than the 46.3-ball rate under Stokes but below the 69.5 balls achieved by Strauss’s side. In the field, Root-led teams took a wicket every 50 balls, a rate bettered among recent England captains only by sides led by Ollie Pope.

Root’s own batting remains another major part of the assignment. He averages almost 47 while captaining England, compared with 53 when not in charge, and has averaged 54 since leaving the role the first time. He enters the Pakistan series 1,807 runs short of Sachin Tendulkar’s Test record of 15,921. After Pakistan, England are scheduled for winter tours of South Africa and Bangladesh, giving Root a run of matches in which results, tactical evolution and his pursuit of the record will develop together.