The last time Joe Root captained England in Test cricket before 2026 ENG vs NZ: A look back at the 2022 West Indies series
· Yahoo Sports
The last time Joe Root captained England in Test cricket before 2026 ENG vs NZ: A look back at the 2022 West Indies series originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Visit esporist.com for more information.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson dropped for second Test; Joe Root named England's interim captain.
- Root resigned the captaincy in April 2022 after England won just one of 17 Tests.
- England's series defeat to West Indies in 2022 was the final chapter of Root's first stint.
Joe Root returns as England test captain: A look back at his 2022 resignation after the West Indies series
Few people would have bet on Joe Root captaining England in Test cricket again after he stepped down from the role back in 2022.
However, following England's victory over New Zealand in the first Test at Lord's, things have taken a turn for the worse in English cricket, and Root has been summoned to helm the boat.
Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson were found to have visited a nightclub after the match and allegedly became involved in an altercation with a rugby player in the early hours of Monday morning.
Days later, the ECB announced that both had been withdrawn from selection for the second Test at The Oval, starting June 17, pending an ongoing investigation. With Stokes removed from the equation, Root was named interim captain for the Oval Test, stepping back into a role he vacated more than four years ago.
Why did Joe Root resign from captaincy in 2022?
The Caribbean trip in early 2022 proved to be the defining low point. Despite Root's personal insistence that the team had made "big improvements" and produced "some brilliant cricket" in that series, the results told a different story.
After drawing the first two, England lost the deciding match in Grenada by 10 wickets, a scoreline that left no room for interpretation. By the time the squad flew home, Root had made up his mind. Across his entire captaincy, England won just one of their final 17 Test matches.
MORE: McCullum opens up on Stokes' nightclub incident
"After returning from the Caribbean tour and having time to reflect, I have decided to step down as England's men's Test captain," Root said.
"It has been the most challenging decision I have had to make in my career but having discussed this with my family and those closest to me, I know the timing is right. I am immensely proud to have captained my country and will look back on the past five years with enormous pride. It has been an honour to have done the job and to have been a custodian of what is the pinnacle of English cricket.
"I had loved leading my country but recently it's hit home how much of a toll it has taken on me and the impact it has had on me away from the game."
MORE: England's cricket drinking culture has long stopped being funny
What is Joe Root's record as a Test captain?
Root had taken up the mantle in 2017 after inheriting the role from Alastair Cook.
His tenure included series wins against India at home in 2018 and against South Africa away in 2019-20. But the final stretch of his captaincy was brutal.
England suffered a 4-0 Ashes defeat in Australia, followed by series losses at home to New Zealand and India, and concluded with a 1-0 defeat to the West Indies in the Caribbean.
Record CategoryAchievementMatches as Captain64Wins as Captain27Losses as Captain26Runs as Captain5,295Centuries (100s) as Captain14Half-Centuries (50s) as Captain26Catches as Captain87Stokes has held the captaincy since 2022, and vice-captain Harry Brook was bypassed for the role. The ECB's selection of Root has been reported as a move designed to leave the door open for Stokes to return once the investigation concludes.
To keep up to date with all the latest cricket news and share your opinion on the biggest topics, visit our Facebook, Instagram and X (Twitter) pages.