Ben Stokes hails Joe Root as ‘Greatest England Test captain’ ever

It is not wrong to say that England captain Joe Root has so far led the team from front in the ongoing series against India. Barring the second Test at Lords, the 30-year-old has been brilliant with captaincy moves so far. He has carried the sizzling form into his batting and has so far scored three big hundreds in three Tests to singlehandedly shepherded England’s batting lineup.

With a thunderous win in the third Test against India, Root also became England’s most successful Test captain, surpassing the likes of Michael Vaughan, Andrew Strauss, and Sir Alastair Cook. The incumbent Test captain of England has now 27 wins in 55 Tests and looks destined to break more records. Vaughan had won 26 matches, while Cook and Strauss had won 24 wins as captain.

Root took over from Cook in 2017 against South Africa, and since then has slowly and steadily evolved as a leader. Initially, he struggled to come with grips in the captaincy front and there were calls from a few experts and critics that his batting is being affected due to the pressure of leading the side. Also, he was not converting his starts into hundreds, which added fuel to the fire. But Root has answered his critics in style.

As soon as Root surpassed Vaughan, tributes started pouring in for the present England captain. Jumping into the bandwagon, Sky Sports Cricket too took to Twitter account and posted a Tweet on his official Twitter account saying, “Does Joe Root need to win an Ashes series to be classed as one of England’s ‘great’ Test captains?”

Already is the greatest….most wins as a English Test Captain..end of https://t.co/U6BfYjXhjx

— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) August 30, 2021

Joe Root has a chance to win the coveted Ashes as a captain

In his glittering trophy cabinet, Root has so not got his hands on the Urn as a leader. He has won Ashes as a player twice, but not as a leader. The right-hand batter has a chance to get that record straight when England travels Down Under for the high-octane Ashes, starting on December 8. England last won an Ashes Down Under in 2010-11, when Root was yet to make his Test debut.