Comment

England's future is in safe hands under Joe Root – the Test captain is aggressive, is growing in confidence and has tactical nous

Joe Root - England's future is in safe hands under Joe Root – the Test captain is aggressive, is growing in confidence and has tactical nous
Joe Root was happy to play an aggressive game when others would have perhaps been more defensive Credit: Getty Images 

When Joe Root was appointed England’s Test captain there were questions over whether he would be tactically smart enough. For me, that was never in doubt and against South Africa he showed enough tactical intelligence to ease any worries about that side of his game.

On the final day at Old Trafford when Hashim Amla and Faf Du Plessis were starting to control the game for South Africa, Root attacked with his fields at a time when other captains would have gone on the defensive.

Root put three men around the bat for the spinner and when Moeen Ali was hit for six by Amla he still kept mid on in place. Previous captains and spinners would have spread the field and dropped mid on back to long on.

Root did the opposite. He said ‘right we are going to attack and get him out’ and brought in a silly point, short leg and a man catching square on the leg side.

By attacking Amla it made him change his approach. He tried to move over to the off side and work the ball a bit squarer because there was a bigger gap at mid-wicket. It could be why he missed it and was out lbw trying a flick to leg.

England - England's future is in safe hands under Joe Root – the Test captain is aggressive, is growing in confidence and has tactical nous
Root and his England side await the decision of the third umpire before Hasim Amla is dismissed Credit: Getty Images

Being aggressive was key at that point and it is what we will see more of from Root. He will not be aggressive for the sake of it, but pick the right moment. This was perfect timing because if Amla and Du Plessis had milked it for another hour and got to within 150, with Quinton de Kock still to come in, you never know what might have happened.

When Toby Roland-Jones was bowling Joe adopted a tactic at Yorkshire they call ‘The Wall’.

When someone like Steve Patterson is bowling they tell him to pretty much bowl half volleys and put three catchers in front of the batsman at short mid on, short mid off and short extra cover. Sometimes they have a short mid-wicket as well. I would not be surprised to see Joe adopt that tactic again on slower wickets.

We worried whether captaincy would detract from Joe’s batting but moving to four certainly helps him as it gives him more time to prepare after being in the field and he averaged over 50 in the series.

Is he a bit naive at times? That is one thing he admitted after he was caught out at Trent Bridge in the press conference. But over the four Test matches he grew in confidence and looked more in control.

Clearly batting first is the way England like to play. They have more control over the game and the challenge will be when they bat second. It could have been a different story if South Africa had batted first so we cannot get too carried away with the result. England turned it around by doing what they do well. Can they bat with same tempo they showed in these last two Tests when strong opponents have put a score on the board? Will they bat through those tricky situations or will they revert to the gung ho approach of Trent Bridge? Given the weakness of the West Indies we will have to wait until Australia to have an answer.  

Keaton Jennings looked better in his last three innings but he keeps getting out in the same way and it looks to me like he needs a breather. Now is the right time to look at Mark Stoneman.

Haseeb Hameed scored runs for Lancashire against Hampshire but it is only one game. It is not enough. I would pick with someone who has scored runs all season. Hameed can wait.  He needs to score a couple of hundreds for Lancashire and then go to Australia as the spare opener.

Dawid Malan and Tom Westley have only played two Tests and that is not enough. They need more games. My message to both players is the same as the advice I received as a young player. Just try to imagine you are on nought for the first hour or two you are at the crease. It stops you getting carried away. It focuses the mind.

Malan played well for his 18 in the first innings at Old Trafford but then he relaxed. In county cricket you can get away with that but not at Test level where you face bowlers who can produce a magic delivery from nowhere.

The one thing that is rarely mentioned about the step up from county to Test cricket is the noise of the crowd. When you bat in county cricket you might get the odd clap for hitting a four but that is it. When you hit a four for England you are cheered loudly, particularly if the party stand at somewhere like Old Trafford is getting a bit boisterous.

To Malan it must have felt like a Twenty20 game when he started hitting a couple of fours. All of a sudden he played a rash shot because the adrenaline was flowing and he wanted to hit the ball to the boundary. That is when you need to imagine you are on nought again.

England looked a solid formation with Moeen at eight and the opposition hate to see a player like him coming in so low down. If he bats for an hour he takes the game away from them. When Chris Woakes is back he will have a proper batsman behind him at nine. England are so lucky to have such a depth of all-rounders.

Just imagine what an outstanding team they would be if they had a Marcus Trescothick at two and Graham Thorpe at five. Malan needs to look at Thorpe. He was someone who read the situation, grafted when he had to and then counter attacked if necessary. It is tough but that is the kind of player England need at five with the firecracker all-rounders still to come in.

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