Ashes 2021-22: There Will Naturally Be Question Marks Over Joe Root - Steve Harmison

Former England cricketer Steve Harmison feels that English captain, Joe Root, will be under the spotlight if they lose the Ashes, doesn’t matter the scoreline. Root is England’s most successful Test captain but his Ashes leadership has a lot left to desire.

As things stand, Australia is 2-0 up in the 2021-22 Ashes series and is well on its way to a whitewash. With Root and Dawid Malan being the only batters to put up a fight at this point, England’s troubles will only worsen from hereon. Harmison believes the reason for this is not just the leadership of Root but the entire system is at fault.

“If England do lose the series, 3-2, 4-1, 5-0, whatever it is, there will naturally be question marks over Joe Root, That’s the world we live in. You take those positions and you’re there to be shot at. But if people think it’s as simple as replacing him and Chris Silverwood they want their heads shaking. We’ve got a system problem in this country,” Harmison told Sportsmail.

“Wouldn’t blame the boy if he’s thinking it’s somebody else’s turn” – Steve Harmison

The tremendous amount of pressure that Joe Root is under might force him to make way for someone else in the team, opined Harmison. Root has been the best Test batsman of 2021, carrying the England batting on his back, comfortably outscoring anyone else in the world. However, the burden of batting and captaincy might take a toll on the 30-year-old.

“Because if this carries on Joe will be looking in the mirror and saying ‘what’s the point? I’ll go back to being a batsman and averaging 50 every year. But I want the IPL on my CV too. I want to be England’s best multi-format player.’ Which I believe he is. I wouldn’t blame the boy if he’s thinking ‘I’ve had my go now, it’s somebody else’s turn.’” Harmison added.

England has won just one of their last eleven Tests and if they don’t show up at the MCG for the Boxing Day Test, that record will only get worse.

Also Read – Shane Watson ‘Gobsmacked’ To See Ben Stokes Batting Defensively In The Ashes 2021-22