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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Matthew Cooper

Geoffrey Boycott says Joe Root has "failed" as England captain and should have been sacked

Geoffrey Boycott has criticised the decision to keep Joe Root as England captain, following his side's embarrassing capitulation against Australia in the Ashes.

Root has come in for plenty of criticism over his leadership, team selection and tactics following the Ashes, but he has been backed to continue in the role.

Sir Andrew Strauss, England's interim Managing Director of Men's cricket, said: "Having spoken to Joe it is absolutely clear the extent of his commitment to taking this side forward – he has incredible motivation and energy to do that.

"He is bruised and disappointed by what went on the Ashes but he has the respect of the players they all play for him and obviously he sets a magnificent example both on and off the field.

England have confirmed that Joe Root will continue as Test captain following the Ashes (Philip Brown/Popperfoto/Popperfoto via Getty Images)

"I will give him my full support and make sure he has the right structure around him to take pressure off him and make sure he can do his job properly."

However, Boycott has questioned the decision to back Root as skipper, claiming he has "failed" in the role so far and does not have "the cricket nous to be a great captain".

In his latest column for the Telegraph, Boycott wrote: "Joe Root is a lucky lad to survive the Ashes nightmare and still be England captain.

"Sir Andrew Strauss says he 'has incredible motivation and energy', and so keeps his job, but is that enough to be captain of England? Not for me. I think you need more than that to resurrect our cricket and be a good leader.

"No current player will put his name forward to take over now as it would be embarrassing with Joe still at the helm. But are these the best reasons to keep someone in a job that he has failed at?

Geoffrey Boycott believes Root should have been axed as skipper (ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)

"He has had enough chances. Joe has been captain for 61 Tests but has not given me the impression that he has the cricket nous to be a great captain. He has lost more Tests in a year than any England captain ever.

"Former Australian leaders like Ricky Ponting and Ian Chappell were critical of his captaincy and even former England players who wanted to support him had to be honest and say they were disappointed with many of his selections and tactics."

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