ENG vs PAK: Joe Root Eager To Create Special Bond With Stephen Fleming

Newly appointed Test captain Joe Root on Saturday said that the newly appointed Test coach Stephen Fleming played a major role in convincing him to return as England’s Test captain, and he is hopeful of building something special alongside the former New Zealand cricketer and captain. For the record, Stephen Fleming was appointed as the new Test coach, succeeding Brendon McCullum, as the New Zealander will take charge from December 2026 onwards in England’s tough tour of South Africa.

Joe Root’s thoughts on working with Stephen Fleming

Speaking to ECB’s official website after assuming the Test captaincy for the second time, Joe Root said, “If I’m being brutally honest, he was a big reason why I wanted to do it. I’m very excited by the way he sees the game, where he sees us sit as a team and the work that we have to do to get to where we want to get to. All of that got me very excited about taking this role on.” 

Root further added, “He’s obviously got a wealth of experience and done some amazing things within the game as a player and as a coach. Very much looking forward to the next little while and us trying to build something pretty special together.” 

Reflecting on taking charge for a second time, Joe Root admitted he feels many of the same emotions he did when he first accepted the role in 2017, but believes his experience has left him better equipped.

He said, “The unique and nice position I find myself in this time is I’ve got a wealth of experience in terms of knowing what it takes, knowing what it looks like, having seen success with it and seeing some hard times as well. I’ve got a lot to fall back on and help me and the team moving forward. I don’t think many captains get that opportunity, certainly not with the amount of games that I have behind me and the experiences that I’ve had in between.” 

Root acknowledged he has changed significantly since his first spell as captain ended in 2022. He felt, “I’m hugely different. Anyone that says they’re the same person they were is probably lying. All of the experiences that you have along the way throughout that period, you’re going to be shaped into a slightly different person. And I think that will be very similar in terms of how I want to take this team forward.” The 35-year-old also reflected on the challenges of captaining England through the COVID-19 pandemic, admitting the prolonged biosecure environment became too much.

He said, “Everyone knows how hard it was from a personal aspect, but when you’re trying to live a professional lifestyle in the professional cricket world where it’s very much results-based, you haven’t got a consistent team, you’re trying to play all three formats, teams taking different priorities, again, just spending vast amounts of time away from your families and loved ones.”

He further added, “As a team we spent 23 Tests in that environment over a two-year period. That’s going to weigh heavily on you. So, to try and manage all that and compete with the two best sides in the world at home and away, in India and Australia, it made it very difficult for us. Clearly we could have been better and we could have performed better, but it got to a point where that got a little too much for me, and it was time to step away. As I sit here right now, the world’s very different. I’m in a very different place, and I feel very energised and excited about the opportunity that lies ahead.” 

Joe Root on how he will take the team forward after taking over from Ben Stokes & Brendon McCullum

Despite taking over from Ben Stokes, Joe Root stressed he has no intention of abandoning the culture created under him and former head coach Brendon McCullum. He said, “The wrong thing to do would be to completely rip everything up that we’ve done over the last four years. There’s so much good stuff that Ben and Brendon did. They changed the way that we look at the game and how we see the game, and I’ve benefitted hugely from that as a player.” 

He further added, “There are certain areas that we want to sharpen up a little bit and become a little bit sterner with, but over time hopefully you can see that in the way we play our cricket. The last four years have been the most fun I’ve had in professional cricket. A big part of that was down to the way they got me to see the game, how I fit into that side and the experiences we created on and off the field.”

He continued, “I think the thing that stands out the most for me is the shift in mindset that was created around how we want to play the game. Trying to strip the fear away from things, make sure guys feel that they can really just allow their talent to come out as frequently as possible, and in big moments in games.” 

He signed off, “If we can do that alongside recognising when the right time is to put pressure back on teams, but when the right time is to soak it up and maybe play situations slightly differently, become little bit smarter in certain areas, then I think we’ll be a very formidable team and a very difficult team to break down and to beat.” 

Joe Root will be eager to start this second stint as a captain on a high while Stephen Fleming will join the side in December and will want to do well. Let’s see how England performs in Tests under this new duo.

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