Like Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff the all-rounder craves to be taken seriously, but the decision to give him an official leading role may backfire
In 2017 at least the pundits and the pollsters have got something right. Joe Root is the new England captain, which is no more surprising than Stephen Fry hosting the Baftas or Huw Edwards delivering the news. At last there is an outcome that is reassuring and predictable.
There are always some gloom-mongers out there (I may join them in a minute) pointing out that Root has seldom captained at first-class level – neither had Michael Vaughan or Nasser Hussain when they took on the England captaincy; that the country’s best batsman will be diminished by the responsibility – like Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli? Or that he shaves too infrequently – he is only 26 but he has already played 53 Tests.
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