Day Three in Hobart saw England collapse to a 4-0 Ashes Series defeat down under, losing all 10 wickets for 58 runs. Following this thrashing, questions are now being asked about Joe Root’s captaincy after the loss by 146 runs.
In pursuit of 271, Rory Burns and Zach Crawley gave the tourists a promising start with an opening stand of 68.
But it proved to be futile as England lost their remaining nine wickets for just 56 runs.
The outcome of this Series now puts Root’s future as Test Captain in serious doubt, despite him wanting to keep the job.
During the second Test in Adelaide, Ricky Ponting criticized the England skipper for not being able to encourage his bowlers to bowl the right length.
“I nearly fell off my seat when I heard that [Root talk about the bowlers lengths]. Whose job is it to make them chaneg? Why are you captain than? If you can’t influence your bowlers on what length to bowl, what are you doing on the field?’
Ricky Ponting – CRICKET.com.au
Former England captain Michael Vaughan also criticized England’s batsmen for not showing enough fight, despite losing the series.
“Australia just too good for England, but I have to say this is embarrassing … they’ve just thrown the towel in,” “I just can’t accept when I see an England side throw the towel in. “That’s not the way to finish a Test match, the way they’ve played in that last hour or so. “It’s just not good enough. As much as bubble life, a lack of preparation, when you see a team throw the towel in like that, that’s when you know there’s real problems in English cricket that need to be ironed out.’
Michael Vaughan – Fox Cricket
Captaincy Becoming Burden on Root?
If we take a look at Root’s captaincy record, he has 27 wins in 60 matches in charge of the side, which is not great. out of those 27 wins, only six have been outside Egland. What is even more demoralizing is the fact that the team has now won just one of their last 14 Tests, which was against India last summer at Headingley.
The Yorkshireman took charge after Alistair Cook’s resignation in February 2017. Many experts, including Nasser Hussain, tipped him to be England’s next successful captain, but it looks as if those expectations have taken their toll on the 31-year old.
Should Root quit or be sacked as Captain, The ECB is likely to go with Ben Stokes, who is currently the Vice-Captain as his replacement.
The fact that being in charge of the Test team and the Trent Rockets in the new Hundred competition have been his only two stints at captaincy is quite baffling, considering the fact that he is nearly in his fifth year in the job.
Another frustrating point is the fact that England at present does not know what their best side is, especially with the constant chopping and changing of players in their starting XI. From Broad and/or Anderson not playing in the first Test to England leaving out a spinner in the second, the team selection has just been appalling.
Embed from Getty ImagesThat’s where questions have to be asked about the roles that Root and Chris Silverwood play in selecting the XI
Do they actually mention conditions? Do they look at form and fitness?
Rotation is important, but there seems to be a lot of panic in terms of who they should pick and who they should not?
Some experts say that there is too much emphasis on white-ball cricket, rather than the Tests, which is the most traditional format for cricket in England.
Embed from Getty ImagesEngland is due to your the West Indies for a T20 Series starting on 22nd January. This will be followed by three Tests in March.
Will they be a new man in charge, or will the ECB continue to show faith in Root?
Stray tuned to World in Sport for more updates.