Former England skipper Nasser Hussain, on Friday, said he would like to see Joe Root stamp more authority as skipper after watching the England skipper’s actions in the ongoing fourth England vs India Test.
Root, a calm and composed character on the field, looked unimpressed when veterans Stuart Broad and James Anderson began changing his field on Friday night. It all began when Broad and Anderson moved the fielder positioned at third man on day two of the game. Root, however, was not impressed with it and immediately gestured them to stop.
For spectators and fans, it was an usual sight. Bowlers changing the field as per their plans is a common sight in the game. However, Nasser Hussain looked at the incident from a different perspective. The former skipper used the example to suggest Root occasionally loses control of his most experienced bowlers.
Writing in his column for The Daily Mail, Hussain spoke about the incident as he praised Root’s authoritative captaincy.
“Nothing summed up Root’s captaincy more than an incident early in the middle session when Stuart Broad, as he often does, was speaking to Jimmy Anderson about where he wanted his third man,” he wrote.
“Root, positioned at second slip, was quite clear where he wanted the fielder to be. Broad moved the third man without consulting Root but the captain said, ‘No, calm down, I want him there.’
“When Broad tried to do it again Root made it pretty clear who was in charge and got his way. If anything Root could have been a bit stronger but I liked the fact he showed his senior men that the buck stopped with him,” he added.
Hussain also said Root often likes to field near the bowler, instead of in the slips, to ensure he has the final say on field placements while the two seamers are bowling.
“That’s why Root likes to position himself at mid-off, trying to cajole and man-manage his bowlers, just as I liked to field there when I was captain so I could talk to the likes of Darren Gough and Andrew Caddick.
“Now that Root has gone to slip it is a harder thing to do but he showed on Friday that he will stand up to great players and there will be times when he is right to insist: ‘I’m in charge of this cricket team and we’re doing it my way’,” he wrote.
Footage showed Root shaking his head from second slip as Broad altered his field. The skipper also walked up to Broad to have a discussion, which prompted Anderson to approach from mid-on despite not being called.
Root has played 73 Tests for England since his debut in 2012. On the other hand, Anderson and Broad have played 142 and 122 Tests respectively.
Coming to the game, India rode on Cheteshwar Pujara’s stunning unbeaten century to recover from 195 from 8 and post 273, thus taking a lead of 27. In reply, England finished the day on 6 for no loss.
The hosts lead the series 2-1.