Joe Root to return to No 4 in England Test batting order

Joe Root says batting at number four should help him as captain and also enable him to churn out more runs consistently.

England captain Joe Root

Joe Root says dropping back down to number four in the England order will benefit both himself and the Test side.

The skipper moved up to the troublesome number three spot for the drawn Ashes series.

Root averaged 32.50 at first drop, failing to make a century in 10 innings as Australia retained the urn.

England's premier batsman is set to move back down to his favoured position when the two-match series against New Zealand starts at Mount Maunganui next week, with Joe Denly expected to come in at three provided he recovers from an ankle injury.

He told BBC's Test Match Special: "I'd like to be consistent with it now, moving forward. It doesn't always work exactly how you want it to but it would be nice for that to be the case.

"I just think it suits my game a little bit more. It definitely fits in with captaincy a little bit better for me.

"I know previous captains have preferred to get out there early and just get amongst it but I quite like to split the two and to really focus on my batting.

"I've found over time that, generally, I've consistently played better in that position."