Joe Root steps down as England's Test captain

Root was appointed as England's Test captain after Alastair Cook stepped down in 2017 and went on to become its most successful skipper with 27 victories.

Joe Root steps down from England's Test captaincy as its most successful leader.

England's Joe Root has announced his decision to step down from Test captaincy after five years in charge on Friday.

Root has come under pressure after England slumped to a 4-0 defeat in the last Ashes series and lost 1-0 in West Indies.

Reflecting on his decision, Root said: "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 have 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."

Who should replace Joe Root as the next England Test captain?

— Sportstar (@sportstarweb) April 15, 2022

 

Root was appointed as England's permanent Test captain after Alastair Cook stepped down in 2017 and went on to become its most successful skipper with 27 victories. The 31-year-old led the side to crucial series triumphs, including a 4-1 home series win over India in 2018 and a 3-1 win in South Africa in 2020.

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In 2018, Root also led England to its first Test series win in Sri Lanka since 2001 and backed it up with 2-0 sweep in 2021.
 
Root is England’s second highest Test run scorer behind only Cook and amassed 14 centuries as captain. His tally of 5,295 runs as captain is the highest by any Englishman and lies fifth in the all-time list behind only Graeme Smith, Alan Border, Ricky Ponting and Virat Kohli.   

"I am excited to continue representing the Three Lions and producing performances that will enable the team to succeed. I look forward to helping the next captain, my teammates and coaches in whatever way I can," said Root in his statement.