Former England batsman Mark Butcher is not happy at all that Joe Root has been given back the Test captaincy after Ben Stokes announced his retirement late last month. 53-year-old Butcher, who played 71 Tests for England and scored more than 4,000 runs at an average of 34.58, believes going back to Root means going back to the previous ethos which saw England win just one game in 17 Tests at one time before the changes were rung, including the arrival of a new set-up.
“Ben Stokes, Brendon McCullum, Rob Key were the reaction to Joe Root’s captaincy the first time around,” Butcher told Sky Sports.
“This revolutionising of the way we play Test match cricket came off the back of 17 Test matches with only one victory under Joe.
“The best thing that happened to him and his game was not being captain any more. His batting since has been on a different level, and I rather hoped it would stay that way, and he would be a loyal lieutenant to Harry Brook or whoever they decided was going to get the job on a permanent basis.”
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Root getting back the captaincy is a clear indication that England don’t think vice-captain Harry Brook, also captain of the white-ball teams, is ready for the Test role as yet. As far as former captain Michael Atherton is concerned, Root may not be an ideal one, but he is a better choice than Brook at present. A lot of people in England think that Brook’s bar brawl incident last year in New Zealand was one of the main reasons behind his snub. He was fined later, but the stigma of the incident is stuck to him to this day.
“Root’s limitations were revealed in the Test against New Zealand at the Oval last month, when it didn’t take long for his usual equanimity to disappear,” Atherton wrote in the Times.
“But needs must, and Root was never likely to turn down the opportunity to help out.
“While Root’s appointment is not ideal, it is a better outcome than having Brook at the helm,” he added.
England are preparing for a three-Test series against Pakistan that starts from August 19 at Headingley. Former England opener Marcus Trescothick will be the coach of the side on an interim basis, with the newly-appointed Stephen Fleming — in place of fellow New Zealander McCullum — to take over the reins in December against South Africa.