He Sat There With His Head In His Hands: Mike Atherton Points Out Exact Moment When Joe Root Decided To Leave England Captaincy
Published - 16 Apr 2022, 02:24 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 01:07 AM
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England’s Joe Root ventured down from test cricket captaincy on Friday, saying the responsibility had negatively affected him as of late, following discouraging voyages through Australia and the Caribbean.
England got through a 4-0 loss in the Ashes series and confronted one more disheartening excursion in the West Indies where the side yielded a 1-0 loss in the three-match series.
Not Shocked By Joe Root’s Decision to Step Down: Former England Skipper Mike Atherton
“I’m not surprised really. It had got to this stage at the end of the Ashes, really. In the West Indies tour, it was pretty clear that a change needed to be made. There comes a moment in every England captain’s life where you realise you’ve given it your all and can’t do anymore,” said Atherton on Sky Sports.
He Sat There With Head In His Hands Looking Quite Distraught And Despairing: Mike Atherton Points Exact Moment When Joe Root Decided To Leave
Further discussing Root, Atherton pinpointed the second during England’s visit to West Indies when the England batter could have had the acknowledgement of venturing down in the influential position.
“There was this particular moment in the Granada Test match when Ben Foakes was run out and the team was sliding to defeat. The cameras panned in on Joe Root on England’s balcony and he sat there with his head in his hands looking quite distraught and despairing. You thought, at that moment, that the realization comes to him at last,” said Atherton.
“He should have stepped down at the end of the Ashes. They tried to insulate his captaincy by making some changes. But I think it was pretty evident that Joe came to the end of the road.”
Ben Stokes and Stuart Broad Tipped To Be The Next England Skipper
England has won only one of their past 17 tests and the tension had been mounting on Root even before their series rout by the West Indies last month, which came closely following an Ashes series whipping by Australia.
Joe Root, who said in late March he needed to go on as captain, is England’s second-highest test run-scorer ever behind Cook and his count of 5,295 runs as captain is the most ever scored by an England skipper. All-rounder Ben Stokes, who was Root’s appointee, has been tipped as a #1 to turn into the following skipper, while bookmakers have made bowler Stuart Broad the subsequent #1.
Also Read: Nasser Hussain: Ben Stokes Has The Respect, Class And Aura To Lead England Out Of The Doldrums
