STATS HIGHLIGHTS
Follow UsA prodigy in Joe Root always said he would lead England, and that happened when Sir Alastair Cook stepped down after the 2016-17 tour of India. In just three years after making his Test debut against India in 2013, Root became England's Test captain, speaking volumes of his abilities.
His captaincy career started off with a bang when he scored 190 against South Africa in his first innings as a captain. Eventually, England went on to win the match and the four-match series against South Africa at home (3-1). Later, England won another home series against West Indies (2-1), making it two in two.
However, the biggest test awaited Root very early in his captaincy career, the Ashes tour to Australia in 2017-18. The results weren’t in favour of the young captain as England managed to draw only one match and lose the remaining four. It didn’t stop there, and he lost the following away series against New Zealand in 2018 (1-0).
Throughout his career as England’s Test captain, Root has blown hot and cold. If series wins in South Africa and Sri Lanka were his highs, the most significant low in his captaincy career was a win-less Ashes. Here are a few prominent records, some high, some low, in Root’s captaincy journey:
Highs and lows of captaincy
Every captain for his country thrusts to be the most successful one, and the same goes with Root. In fact, he has been the most successful one for England, in terms of wins at least.
In 64 matches under him, England have won 27 games, which is the most for an England captain. With his win against India in Leeds in 2021, Root surpassed Michael Vaughan’s tally of 26 wins. Out of those 27 wins for Root, 10 of those came in away matches. Making him the only England captain so far to win ten or more away matches.
In the 64 matches, Root has a win/loss ratio of 1.038. Despite being the most successful captain in terms of wins, his win/loss ratio is on the lower side because of the number of losses he has suffered. Throughout his captaincy tenure, Root has suffered 26 defeats and only 11 draws. His 26 losses are the most for an England captain.
A flag-bearer with the bat
The pressure of performing as a captain gets under the skin of the greatest players, and Sachin Tendulkar is one of the best examples. However, Root came under the category of those players who enjoyed minting runs, like Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Babar Azam.
There was a patch in his captaincy tenure when Root was struggling to convert his fifties into a ton. From his first match as a captain in 2017 till 2018, Root had hit 18 scores of over 50 and had converted only four into a century. But, since 2019, he smashed ten centuries out of the 22 times he had hit 50+ scores.
Root is the only England captain to score over 5000 runs in Tests. To go with, he has 14 centuries, which is also the most for an England captain.
In the year 2021, though England had a year of ups and downs, the skipper thrived to his best. He scored over 1700 runs when none of his teammates scored more than 550 runs.
Success in Asia
For a sub-continent captain, winning in SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) is challenging. Vice-versa, for a non-Asian skipper, sub-continent conditions pose similar challenges.
However, Root was different. If not for his three consecutive losses against India in their tour to India in 2021, Root’s record as a captain in Asia would have been flawless. Before the second Test against India, Root had captained England in six matches in Asia and won all six games. Only two captains had a 100 percent win record in Asia in their first six, and Waqar Younis was the other.
After his three losses to India, Root had six wins in nine matches in Asia, which is the third most for a non-Asian captain. In terms of win percentage, among non-Asian captains who led in five-plus matches, his win percentage of 66.7 percent is the best.
A winless 10-match stint in Australia
Root’s captaincy numbers in Australia were polar opposite to what he had in Asia. He led England in two Ashes series in Australia, and he was winless in both.
His first tour to Australia came in his captaincy debut year (2017). In the five matches of that Ashes series (2017-18), Root lost four and drew one match. In his recent outing in 2021-22, he suffered the same fate, lost four and drew one.
Overall, in 10 matches in Australia, Root had two draws and suffered eight defeats. Among captains who have led 10+ matches in a country, only Mike Gatting of England (11 matches) and Dudley Nourse (10 matches) of South Africa have suffered this fate of a win-less stint in a country.
Unsuccessful Ashes campaign
Root might be the most successful captain for England in Tests, but his captaincy records in the Ashes are dead opposite to his overall numbers. Root led England in only one Ashes home series, and that was in 2019.
In that series, Root won two matches and lost two and drew one.
Nevertheless, his win/loss ratio of 0.2 in 15 matches in the Ashes reflects his struggles. Among captains who have led 10+ matches in the Ashes, from both sides, his win/loss ratio is amongst the worst.
His Test campaign started with five wins in seven matches and two series victories. But, the end hasn’t been the kind of fairytale he would have wanted. In his last 17 matches as captain, England lost 11 encounters and drew five, with just a consolation win against India at Leeds in 2021.
