Root's great challenge to finish captaincy story

Covid destroyed Root's team, and there are other reasons why Root might also feel he didn't get a fair shake first time around. His tenure as captain coincided with a prioritisation of white-ball cricket and, when he stood in for Stokes against New Zealand in June, he admitted to some envy at not getting the chance to work alongside McCullum.

Not that everything went against Root. One could argue that, given the players at his disposal, he should have had a better record as captain.

Peak Stokes, England's two greatest bowlers in James Anderson and Stuart Broad, plus the luxury of further all-rounders Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali. Root did not get to lead the best version of Alastair Cook, but the late-career Sir Chef would improve the current England team.

Root may feel he is better placed to captain England now, yet he is taking over if not a worse, then certainly a much more inexperienced team. Perhaps he will find this group easier to mould in his image. In his first Test as captain, in 2017, Root was the third-youngest player in the XI. In 2026, at the age of 35, he is comfortably the oldest.

For plenty of supporters the main worry will be the possibility of a detrimental effect the captaincy could have on Root's batting, and it is true that his average with the armband - 46.7 - is some way off his stellar career mark of 53.3.

That discrepancy is mainly because of a poor run in the middle of his first stint as skipper. Root averaged 37 in 2019, the year before things started going wrong for England during Covid.

In 2021, mid-pandemic and with the team falling apart, Root racked up 1,708 runs - the most by any England batter in a calendar year. He later explained that batting, being in the middle, was the only time he got any peace.

Root remains England's best player. Since the beginning of the Bazball era, he has scored almost 1,000 more Test runs than any other batter in the world. In the same period, he has moved second on the all-time list of run-scorers, with Sachin Tendulkar now in his sights.

Catchin' Sachin is the sub-plot to Root's second stint as captain, and he is adamant he can juggle the jobs of leadership and run-scoring.

His job as a leader will be to mould a group of players whose education in Test cricket was hampered by the informal approach of Stokes and McCullum. That point about Stokes not leaving the England squad in a better place than he found it? Root's team have questions about an opener and wicketkeeper, a makeshift number three, no obvious all-round option and are without a world-class spinner.

England start as favourites against a Pakistan team that has not won a series in this country in 30 years and will be without their own captain in Leeds, the injured Babar Azam.

Pakistan have, however, played more Tests in July and August than England – a 1-1 draw against West Indies. In seamer Mohammad Abbas and spinner Sajid Khan, they have bowlers who have caused England trouble in the past. If the tourists can get enough runs, it will be a competitive series.

After this, it gets very difficult for England. The winter includes trips to South Africa and Bangladesh, and a one-off pink-ball shootout against Australia.

Speaking of the Aussies, they will surely be better than they showed in defeat by Bangladesh when they arrive for the Ashes next summer. After that, England go to India in early 2028. It all adds up to a devilishly difficult first 18 months of Root's second tenure.

For all his runs, records, and milestones, perhaps rebuilding this England team in the face of the tasks ahead represents one of the greatest challenges of his storied career.

On top of that, Root has acknowledged the work his team have to do to rebuild their reputation with the public after a string of off-field misdemeanours. "Be good role models and good human beings," he has said to his players.

They should look no further than their captain for an example, for Root is one of the best.