Wednesday 19 / August / 2026
Leeds: England skipper Joe Root said that the team would not be "ripping up" former captain-coach duo Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum's 'Bazball' brand of cricket as they start a new era against Pakistan with the first Test at Headingley from Thursday onwards, adding thar there is no one way of playing the longer format of the game.
England will start a new era with Root back at the helm after four years of Stokes-McCullum in charge of things. Following the home series loss to New Zealand, all-rounder Stokes announced retirement from international cricket while McCullum also departed from his post, making way for New Zealander Stephen Fleming, who had just ended his stint with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL.
Root, who captained England on 65 occasions and ended his first permanent spell from 2017 to 2022 with just one win in 17 Tests before the Stokes-McCullum took over and championed their ultra-aggressive, no holds barred, positive, result-oriented 'Bazball' brand of cricket. The style produced mixed performances. While England did manage to pull off some stunning victories and individual performances, they could not win a series against two of their biggest rivals, Australia and India, at home and away from home. They also lost their first home series since 2012 against Kiwis just after Stokes and McCullum had retained their jobs in the post-Ashes review done by England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), while battling an off-the-field team curfew controversy.
Speaking ahead of the match, Root said as quoted by Sky Sports, "I do not think there is a huge amount we need to change. It is small things that will make a big difference."
"It is not about ripping it up, I think it is about keeping a lot of the good stuff we have been doing for a period of time, stuff that Ben and Baz built for a long while."
"I do not believe there is one way of playing Test cricket. You have got to be adaptable and play the situation. It is never the same throughout five days, there is different challenges and you have got to adjust to the ebbs and flows throughout," he continued.
Speaking about his return to captaincy, Root feels in a completely different environment and head space, adding that there are things that he might go about differently after playing under a different captain and coach.
"The landscape is different," he said. "I am a different player and person than I was when I first took over as captain," he added.
"I am in a very fortunate, unique position where I have got 60-odd games of experience to look back on. There are things I might want to change and do slightly differently. I had time to step away, play in a different environment, under a different coach, different captain, and see the game from a different lens."
"In many ways I feel as ready as any other England captain that's been before; to have that amount of experience is invaluable," he continued.
Root expressed his excitement to play at his home ground of Headingley, as he continues his pursuit for Indian icon Sachin Tendulkar's all-time run tally of 15,921 runs, currently sitting at 14,114 runs in 166 Tests with 41 tons. The veteran enjoys a fine run at Leeds, with 763 runs in 11 Tests and 19 innings at an average of 44.88, with two centuries and five fifties.
"It is a very talented group of players that are very capable of special things. I am really excited about where we can take this team," he signed off.
Squads:
England Squad: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Joe Root(c), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith(w), Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir, Ollie Pope, Josh Tongue, Sam Cook, Ollie Robinson, Matthew Fisher
Pakistan Squad: Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood, Salman Agha(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Aamer Jamal, Sajid Khan, Ubaid Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Khurram Shahzad, Ghazi Ghori, Saud Shakeel, Abdullah Fazal, Awais Zafar, Ali Usman.
