Joe Root has acknowledged that serving as England’s Test captain sapped all of his energy, and when he realised it was impacting his personal and family relationships, he decided to step down from the position.
On April 16, Root announced his resignation as England’s Test captain after captaining the team for 64 games and earning 27 victories, the most of any male skipper from a nation in the game’s longest format.
But as calls for Root’s resignation grew, he eventually resigned, and all-rounder Ben Stokes is now the Test captain after England won just one of its past 17 tests and lost the men’s Ashes 4-0 before falling to the West Indies 1-0 in the series.
“It has really ruined my life over the past few years. And it did have an impact. First and foremost, it was the correct choice for the group, but it was also the right choice for me since I wasn’t myself. As I was returning from a series, I was unable to unplug or be present with my family.”
“I could envision myself as a shadow of the person I aspire to be. I believe that sometimes you have to have the maturity to realise when it’s time to go on and hand that wonderful honour to someone else “said Root during a Vaughany and Tuffers Cricket Club podcast for Telegraph Sport.
“I was eager to make things right while I got over there (in the West Indies). To return to England and take a fresh look at things, but I’m really happy with how we handled things in the first place. And I spoke to Ben directly, who was my vice-captain and was likely the closest friend in the group, long before I spoke to anyone else. Once I spoke to family and got everything off my chest, it was quite a relief “added Root.
Root had a record-breaking batting year in 2021 despite his difficulties as Test captain, scoring 1708 runs in 15 matches, including six centuries. After Pakistan’s Mohammad Yousuf and the West Indies’ Sir Vivian Richards, he became just the third player in the history of the sport to amass more than 1700 runs in Test cricket in a single calendar year.
When he batted for England, Root said he was able to put his captaincy woes behind him, unlike most of his predecessors. “If you will, that was my peaceful time. You are the only one there, so all you have to do is focus on the ball. And the more time I spent there, the quieter it became. Additionally, the less things on your mind, the more in charge of your life you are.”
