Michael Vaughan backs Joe Root to be boosted by return to England Test captain role
Joe Root has returned to his role as England Test captain
Michael Vaughan believes Joe Root’s return to the role of England Test captain will be just the lift the Sheffielder needs.
The news was announced as part of a red ball shake-up which saw Stephen Fleming been confirmed as England’s new Test head coach.
"I just wonder from Joe's perspective if he needed this to get that real enthusiasm to get up every morning to play Test match cricket," Vaughan told Test Match Special podcast.
"The amount of cricket that he's played, I just wonder whether he needed this little trigger, this little motivational tool.
"He hasn't got that many of his close friends in the team any more, a lot of his team-mates have retired or moved on, so maybe this is exactly what Joe Root needs as well."
Root stepped down in 2022 after defeat to West Indies and said at the time: "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."
"Around the time he was appointed England were trying to win the 50-over World Cup and all the England eggs were put in the white-ball basket," Vaughan added.
"Then Covid struck. None of us would know how hard it would be to captain in a Covid time - Joe had to do that.
"That Caribbean tour where it came to an end, it looked like a job that was a little bit too far for him. He's a little bit older, a little bit wiser. I think Stephen Fleming will help out with a lot of the stuff that some captains get drained by - organising the dressing room and making sure the tactical side of the team is in good order.
"I just think in terms of his motivation and in terms of what is left for Joe Root to achieve in the game, of course there's a few runs to get past Sachin [Tendulkar's all-time Test run-scoring record] but if he can be an Ashes winner next year, a world leader in runs he's scored in Test cricket, you can't ask for a more perfect career."
Marcus Trescothick will lead England in the interim for the series with Pakistan while Stephen Fleming, who replaces Brendon McCullum will come in later this summer to start preparations for the South Africa Test tour in December.