Joe Root sits back in the captain’s chair on Wednesday, two-and-a-bit years after giving it up, and the tag this time reads “interim”. Helpful and unhelpful in equal measure. Useful because it signals Ben Stokes is still, on paper, England’s Test captain; unhelpful because nobody is quite sure how long the stop-gap lasts or what comes next.
England’s hierarchy – Rob Key, Brendon McCullum, and now Root – have spent the past week stone-walling every follow-up. Two separate disciplinary processes, one internal and one with the Cricket Regulator, are grinding away in the background and the party line is to say as little as possible until both have finished.
None of the trio has actually promised that Stokes will pull on an England shirt again. The closest Root came, speaking at Lord’s on Tuesday, was to point out that Stokes has “the respect of everyone in our dressing-room” before dodging the harder part – would he like him back as captain? “People that are in a slightly different job” will decide, he said.
Root confirmed he had spoken to Stokes in private, branding them “privileged conversations” that should “stay between us”. Fair enough. Yet the guarded words only add to the sense of limbo around Stokes – how he feels, whether the fire still burns, when he might be available.
The comparison with Root’s own final months in charge is hard to miss. From 2017 to 2022 he led England through bubbles, bio-secure hotels and, at the end, a run of one win in 17 Tests. “I found I ended up being so consumed with everything that I wasn’t the person I wanted to be,” he admitted. “It was the right time to step away, not just because our performances weren’t where they needed to be.”
Results under Stokes have been better, but last week at Lord’s he looked weary. The long Sunday session in the bar did not help. Talk of resignation or even retirement felt less fanciful than it ought to have done. Those rumours have cooled, though McCullum, Key and now Root still refuse to rule anything out. Even a swift comeback for the third Test at Trent Bridge next Thursday feels optimistic.
So Root is back, officially on a “game-by-game basis”. Asked if the gig could stretch beyond the current series he would not close the door: “The only thinking that came to my mind is, ‘What is the best thing for the team?’ and, ‘Is it going to have a big effect on me and my personal life?’ and which outweighed the other… It felt like it was the right thing to take this on.”
From a cricketing perspective it is a tidy short-term fix. Root has already captained 64 Tests, he knows the players, and crucially he did not leave on bad terms. Tactically the side will look familiar – aggressive fields, proactive declarations – though Root may keep one or two slips in place a touch longer than Stokes.
Longer term? England do not want Root burning out all over again. Harry Brook is widely tipped as the next in line yet, at 27 and with fewer than 20 caps, he may not be shoved in mid-series. There is talk of a split leadership model but nobody has explained how that would work.
Selection chair Rob Key has hinted England could “keep things fluid” through to the winter, a phrase that reassures and worries at the same time. Fluid is fine if Stokes returns refreshed; chaotic if the team drifts through a revolving door of temporary skippers.
What everyone can agree on is that, right now, Root offers calm. His batting has held up since handing over – an average north of 50 under Stokes – and he speaks well for a squad that has lived with enough noise this past week.
Whether the interim label stretches to two Tests, five, or the rest of the summer is anyone’s guess. For now Root covers the hole. England just need to make sure they do not stumble into the next one.
