Challenges that Joe "Captain" Root will be facing
Being considered as one of the modern-day batting greats, Joe Root is all set to accept his new challenge. After Cook’s resignation as the England captain in Tests, the captaincy has been passed over to Joe Root and come this Thursday, he will be donning his new avatar of leading the Three Lions.
After the 4-0 drubbing handed over to them by India, England is hoping that the change in captaincy would bring back the much-needed fizz in their game of the longest format. Having made a reputation for himself as a high-grade cricketer, Root is expected to deliver the goods right away. Although, having a talented bunch of players at his disposal will certainly be of aid to him.
In his very first assignment as the captain, the Yorkshireman will be leading his brigade against the mighty South Africans in a three-match Test Series starting on the 6th of July. So given the huge air of anticipation around Root’s captaincy, let's take a look at some of the challenges that he needs to overcome to successfully come on top as a true leader.
The Protea test
Joe Root will be making his debut as captain against a very strong South African team who is currently ranked second in the ICC Test rankings. The Proteas are pretty high on confidence after having beaten Australia, Sri Lanka and New Zealand in their previous three series.
Having lost the ODI and T20I series on this tour just ahead of the Champions Trophy, the South Africans are pretty determined to end their tour on a high by winning the Test series. Captained by Faf du Plessis, South Africa have some very talented players in their ranks who can single-handedly outplay the opposition on their day. The likes of Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada can make life extremely difficult for England, thereby making South Africa tough to beat.
England will be returning to white clothes after a gap of almost six months and Joe Root will have his hands full in his very first match as captain. This match will be embarking his captaincy career and will seriously test his leadership skills.
Also read: England announce 12-man squad for first Test against South Africa
Facing the English media
Being the very place from where Cricket had originated, the English fans and the media have always expected nothing less than brilliance from their cricketers. Having not won even a single major 50-overs trophy has been something that has irked them for quite some long now. Also, the huge success of the IPL and the game’s popularity in and around Asia has ignited a radical shift of the cricketing epicentre towards the subcontinent. This is something that has not gone down well with the ECB and the British media.
Given all this prestigiousness and expectations, the British media has been very critical of its cricketers. Much like in India, whenever the English cricketers fail to deliver, they have to face the brunt of the local media. The recent example of this being England's exit from the Champions Trophy in the semi-final when the media was very critical of them.
So one important challenge that the 26-year-old will need to face is managing the critique and the negative remarks made by the media whenever his team doesn’t perform well. This will truly test his character and mental strength as there will be many situations in the future when media might come down heavily on him for underperforming or for not leading the side well.
Root will have to maintain a calm head and make sure that the ire of the media doesn't percolate into the players’ minds and start impacting their game in a negative way.
Also read: Michael Vaughan and Nasser Hussain blast England's decision to recall Gary Ballance
Taking over from Alastair Cook
Another major challenge that Joe Root will face is filling the shoes of Alastair Cook. Cook, who is currently England’s highest run-getter in Tests, had done a commendable job leading the team.
His captaincy, which has been widely praised on many occasions, played a crucial role in England securing some of its most memorable victories over the past few years. He helped England secure famous series victory on Indian soil in 2012 and also led them to two Ashes series victories in 2013 and 2015.
Although his latest captaincy stint against India in 2016 left him with a bitter experience. After leading his side in a record 59 matches, Cook gave up his captaincy following the tour.
Barring a few, Cook has successfully managed to conquer many demons of English Cricket and has guided them on the right path. Now Root, who will be taking over the mantle of captaincy, will not only have to continue the good work done by Cook over the past four years or so but also tackle some of English cricket’s recent issues such as their poor form in the subcontinent, especially in India and the UAE.
As mentioned above, a lot is expected of Joe Root as a captain and it will be interesting to see if can continue Alastair Cook’s legacy or not.
Conquering his own self
Joe Root celebrates after getting a hundred
We all know what an amazing talent the new England Test skipper is. In the recent times, he has been England’s best batsman across all the formats and his stats are a true testament to this very fact.
But one particular thing that has pestered many great batsmen over the years has been the fact that the role of captaincy has affected their own batting form in a negative way. Be it the great Sir Viv Richards, Younis Khan, Micheal Vaughn or even the God himself, Sachin Tendulkar, many batsmen have seen a dip in their batting form after becoming the captains of their teams.
It might be because of the added pressure of leading the side or due to the burden of over expectations, these batsmen have found it tough to manage both captaincy and their batting at the same time. Some of them even gave up on captaincy to focus exclusively on their batting.
Another batsman who will now be tested for this is Joe Root. Being England’s linchpin in the batting department, it’s imperative that Root doesn’t let captaincy affect his batting. Facing a bowling attack consisting of Morne Morkel, Kagiso Rabada and Vernon Philander will only make it harder for Root but given his class and temperament, it would be no surprise if he thrives under pressure and leads his team from the front.
Also read: England vs South Africa 2017: 5 players to watch out for in the Test series