'It had become a very unhealthy relationship' - Joe Root on his struggles with Test captaincy
Joe Root scored an excellent century in the first Test match against New Zealand at Lord's.
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Joe Root. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
On the back of an excellent century from former England skipper Joe Root, the Three Lions went on to win the first Test match against New Zealand on June 5 (Sunday). The right-handed batter scored an excellent 115* and bagged the important match for his side at Lord’s.
Root along with the wicketkeeper-batter Ben Foakes went on to stitch a 100+ run partnership, with former England captain doing the bulk of the scoring. After playing a match-winning knock against the disciplined Kiwi side, the 31-year-old for the first time opened up about the mental pressure he had to bear during his Test captaincy days.
I was determined to help turn this team around: Joe Root
“It had become a very unhealthy relationship, to be honest, the captaincy and me. It started to take a bad toll on my health. I couldn’t leave it on the ground anymore, it was coming home. It wasn’t fair on my family, on people close to me, and it wasn’t fair on myself either,” said Root after playing a match-winning knock against the Kiwi side.
“I had thrown everything at it and I was determined to help turn this team around but I realized over that time at home that it would have to be in a different way. I’m very excited to do that now and to do everything I can to help Ben [Stokes] turn this team around and make this team the force it should and can be,” the former skipper added.
It must be noted that England went through a struggling phase in the longest format of the game in Root’s era. Under his captaincy, the Three Lions managed to win just one out of their last 17 Test matches. The English side had to face humiliating defeats at the hands of Australia and the West Indies, after which he stepped down. However, they have managed to bounce back under the new leadership of Stokes. The England side will now take on New Zealand in the second Test match slated to start on June 10.
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