Stopgap captain could be perfect for England after Joe Root’s overdue exit | Vic Marks


ECB shouldn’t be afraid of appointing a short-term leader who can steer the side through a challenging summer

On Friday, Joe Root resigned as England captain and this was one of the better recent days for the England and Wales Cricket Board. It was, at least, one clarification in a fog of uncertainty. There is no chairman at the ECB, no cricket director (though the expectation is that Rob Key will be appointed after the Easter bank holiday), no coach and now no Test captain. Not much room for complacency here. England have not been so rudderless since 1988, the summer of four Test captains.

The assumption is that Root jumped rather than being pushed since there is no one around at the ECB to push him. Key, as a Sky pundit, has been critical of his captaincy but I doubt that was decisive. Root has had time since the Caribbean tour to think and sit down with his nearest and dearest and he has reached a logical conclusion.

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