Joe Root says he is “very grateful” to have avoided the axe as captain in England’s post-Ashes, and argues “no-one is saying” that the international careers of dropped duo James Anderson and Stuart Broad are over.
While Head Coach Chris Silverwood, his assistant Graham Thorpe, and Managing Director Ashley Giles were all fired, with eight players dropped, in the wake of the 4-0 defeat, Root remains England captain for the tour of the West Indies, which departs tomorrow.
A dearth of alternatives is a key reason Root keeps the job, having already captained England in 61 Tests across five years.
Root said it is “never nice when you see people that you’ve worked closely with for a long period of time lose their jobs” but remains confident that he is the right man to lead England, even if he has “not put a time limit on” how long that remains the case.
“It was a decision that was completely out of my hands in many respects and I’m very grateful that I’ve got the opportunity to lead this team forward,” he said. “I’m really excited about that, I’m really grateful for that opportunity.
“I didn’t waver [in belief that he is the right man for the job]. I’m very passionate about trying to take this team forward. I’m grateful I’ve got that opportunity, I really am.
“It’s now very exciting, with that squad being announced, for us to be on the eve of that tour, to get out there and to really try and put all of the thoughts and all of the ideas and good feelings about it into action and really put the wheels in motion and enjoy everything about it as well.”
Anderson and Broad have been dropped for the tour, but Root is insistent that the door remains open for them to resume their international careers in the summer.
Broad wrote of his disappointment at length in last weekend’s Mail on Sunday, while Anderson broke his silence on the Tailenders podcast on Wednesday, saying he “prayed” that his international career was not over at 39.
“I’ve spoken both to Stuart and Jimmy and they’re obviously disappointed, angry, and Stuart in particular has voiced that quite publicly,” he said. “And you’d expect that. I’ve got a huge amount of respect for both of them.
“At no point - it’s been made very clear - no one is saying this is the end for them. The guys that are on the tour have got a real opportunity to step into some slightly different roles, to take those opportunities, to grow themselves as players within this team and to strengthen what could be backbone of this team moving forward. It would be great to see Stuart and Jimmy very much in the mix at the start of the summer as well.
“The fact they’re not there means there are different roles others have to fill. They’ve taken the new ball for such a long time in English cricket, they’ve been leaders of the attack, had a lot of success and deserve a huge amount of respect for it. But this is an opportunity for other guys to step into that space and become leaders as well. Take on a different role in the team.
“Guys like Chris Woakes and others will get the opportunity to bowl with a brand new ball in a Test match in away conditions and furthering the knowledge of the squad and broadening things. If we come away from this tour as victors and also gaining a lot of knowledge of other players and then there’s Jimmy and Broady to come back into things then we’re in a really strong position.
“I don’t want this to sound like a development tour at all but we’ve got a great opportunity for people to step into that space and be better for it.”
