Since he made his test debut in Nagpur in 2012, Joe Root has been living the dream. The Yorkshire batsman has been turning heads all around the world, not just because of his obvious talent, but also because of his maturity beyond his years.
Joe Root: Future England Captain
Early this week, Root was interviewed by Nasser Hussain about his current affairs and how he is feeling in the England set-up to date. Root seemed happy and open, as per usual, and talked about his similar dismissals in the first test of the West Indies tour. The interview was very free-flowing and the two men talked like close friends, until Hussain brought up the subject of Root being labelled, as he called it, a ‘F.E.C’. This stands for Future England Captain and it is definitely something people were curious to know about Root and what his thoughts were.
As is common in sport, especially in cricket, labels can be very sticky indeed and by attaching this particular one to the 24-year-old, this suggestion may well prey on Root’s mind. Whether it will have a long term psychological effect on him is something viewers will have to monitor over the years, but for now he seems to be very relaxed about the subject and is happy to continue batting well and making runs.
Alastair Cook’s struggles in the last two years have been no secret, and many people feel that if the ECB didn’t have a point to prove and that Cook weren’t the man at the helm, then he would’ve have been dropped ages ago. It’s obvious that his form is unacceptable for this level and he is the first to admit that, but there are still people who entertain the thought that maybe a fresh face could re-inspire the team and set a new era in motion.
If that idea was to be explored deeper then who would be the candidates? Bell is up there, but would he want it? His form is exceptional as of late and the captaincy might hinder him slightly after seeing what it did to Cook. Broad already leads the T20 side and he hasn’t exactly set the world alight yet, mainly because he has been injured for the majority of games, but he hasn’t had any head-turning form for a while. Root would be an excellent long-term option who could potentially be one of the best in English history.
With regards to how Root could gain vital experience as a leader, that would be a more difficult situation. He went through the testing times of the infamous 2013-14 Ashes series down under and it did change him as a person, as he had to fight his way back into the side after losing his place, but as for becoming a leader of men it would take more than his casual and infectious charm to inspire the other players if they were to hit another low. Cook did take a lot of stick for the poor performances and as a leader he is an inspiration to a lot of people, but would Root be able to take a lot of criticism from the press for his team-mates’ performances rather than just his own?
I have no doubt that Root is a future England captain and will lead the test squad eventually, but he is still learning his game and a few years shadowing Cook or another senior player in charge would ideally benefit him, just so he can understand what he could be getting himself into for the long term.
