Friday, June 12, 2026

Thursday, June 11, 2026

Back in the hot seat – Assessing Joe Root’s complex captaincy legacy

Pamela Rios June 11, 2026 Leave a Reply
Back in the hot seat – Assessing Joe Root’s complex captaincy legacy

Joe Root has officially returned as England’s interim Test captain following disciplinary action against Ben Stokes.

With Stokes and bowler Gus Atkinson sidelined during an active ECB investigation into an off-field curfew incident, England’s selectors skipped vice-captain Harry Brook (who also has a recent dodgy disciplinary record) and instead turned to their most experienced hand.

Root will now lead the team during the final two Tests against New Zealand, stepping back into a role he previously held for five years.

As the Yorkshireman prepares to lead his country once again, here is a comprehensive breakdown of Joe Root’s historic, prolific, and ultimately taxing record as England’s Test cricket skipper.

The record: Most wins, most losses

Root’s first stint as captain between 2017 and 2022 was defined by extreme longevity and unprecedented statistical milestones. By the time he stepped down in April 2022, he had overseen a record 64 Test matches.

His raw leadership metrics are the most polarizing in English cricket history:

The Wins: Root is statistically England‘s most successful Test captain with 27 victories to his credit, surpassing Michael Vaughan’s previous record of 26.

The Losses: Conversely, a dismal final stretch left Root with 26 defeats, the highest number of losses suffered by any English skipper.

Also read: Fortress of tradition – 7 iconic milestones from 150 Tests at Lord’s

Batting under the burden: A run-scoring machine

While leadership often erodes a top-order batter’s productivity, Root defied the trend. He was frequently forced to carry an incredibly fragile and transitioning batting order. Before taking the job, he averaged 52.80 across 53 Tests.

As skipper, his average dropped only slightly to 46.44, whilst accumulating an incredible 5,295 runs.

His captaincy tenure included 14 centuries and 26 half-centuries. His peak came in the calendar year of 2021. Defying a struggling team, Root amassed 1,708 Test runs, including two double-centuries and four hundreds, en route to being named the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year.

 Captaincy style: Methodical and traditional

Root’s tactical blueprint sits in stark contrast to the ultra-aggressive, high-tempo “Bazball” philosophy later engineered by Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.

Root operated as a traditionalist. He focused on conservative field settings, orthodox attritional bowling plans, and methodical game management.

While his composed demeanour kept dressing room morale high, critics often argued that his style lacked tactical dynamism. He was occasionally criticized for overworking his primary bowling assets, most notably exhausting Ben Stokes during demanding away tours.

Highs and lows: Where he succeeded and failed

Root enjoyed spectacular success in specific territories, notably masterminding consecutive away series victories in Sri Lanka and a famous 3-1 triumph in South Africa.

However, his legacy was fundamentally compromised by his record against arch-rivals Australia and a brutal final 12 months in office:

  • The Ashes flaws: Root was unable to win an Ashes series as captain, suffering a 4-0 defeat down under in 2017/18 and an identical 4-0 thrashing in 2021/22.
  • The final slide: His reign concluded during a horrific stretch where England won just one of his final 17 Test matches, bottoming out with a 1-0 series loss in the West Indies that prompted his resignation.

Root’s interim reappointment offers a fascinating tactical bridge for England.

While he previously looked relieved to shed the emotional toll of the captaincy to focus strictly on his batting, his steady hand provides vital stability for an England side that has lost its way away from the field and which has seen its leadership come under increasing pressure.

Read next: Anatomy of a prodigy – Decoding Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s strike rates per phase of the innings

The post Back in the hot seat – Assessing Joe Root’s complex captaincy legacy appeared first on Cricket365.



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Tuesday, June 9, 2026

European revolution – Everything you need to know about EUT20 Belgium

Pamela Rios June 09, 2026 Leave a Reply
European revolution – Everything you need to know about EUT20 Belgium

The global short-format cricket blueprint has officially made landfall in mainland Europe.

In late 2025, the Belgian Cricket Federation teamed up with private sports management firm Destino Legends Sports LLC to birth EUT20 Belgium, the continent’s very first sanctioned, high-performance professional franchise T20 cricket league.

Formulated specifically to expand the game beyond traditional associate boundaries, this hyper-condensed tournament aims to bridge the gap between top-tier global superstars and budding European domestic talent.

If you are trying to familiarise yourself with this brand-new addition to the global sporting calendar, here’s our guide to the franchises, rosters, and rules defining the inaugural season.

1. When and where does it take place?

The inaugural edition of EUT20 Belgium is scheduled to run across a lightning-fast, high-octane 9-day window from 6 June to 14 June 2026. To optimize infrastructure and maintain standard ICC playing pitches, the league is bypassing traditional multi-city travel.

Instead, all 18 scheduled matches will take place at a single, centralized venue: the specially prepared grass pitches of the 12 Stars Cricket Club in Hofstade, Zemst, situated just outside Brussels.

2. The five franchises

While a sixth team was originally drawn up in early planning, the tournament finalized into a highly competitive five-team city structure.

The five foundation clubs competing for the historic title include: Akcel United Brussels, Antwerp Anchors, Ghent Gladiators, JB Bruges, Liège Red Lions.

Also see: 2026 IPL Team of the Tournament – surprise inclusions and exclusions

3. Star-studded rosters and global ambassadors

The league made immediate global headlines by appointing World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan as its official Global Brand Ambassador.

The teams themselves feature an unbelievable mix of legendary veterans and active short-format mercenaries drafted alongside mandatory domestic Belgian qualifiers.

Elite players: Proteas icon Faf du Plessis anchors the Liège Red Lions alongside Chris Lynn, Corey Anderson, and Shoaib Malik. Antwerp Anchors boast West Indies powerhouse Andre Russell and David Wiese.

Meanwhile, Akcel United Brussels is completely loaded with star power, sporting Alex Hales, Jason Roy, Rilee Rossouw, and Shakib Al Hasan.

Coaching masterclasses: The backroom staff is equally elite. International coaching minds like Mark Boucher (Brussels), Jonathan Trott (Ghent), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (Bruges), and South Africa‘s Herschelle Gibbs (Liège) have signed on to mastermind the franchises.

4. What’s up for grabs?

Beyond a massive global broadcasting reach – with matches beamed live internationally via major hubs like the Sony Sports Network and FanCode, the immediate prize is the inaugural European T20 Franchise Championship.

More importantly, local Belgian players have immense career growth on the line. Top domestic performers receive direct pathways to contracts in prominent global T20 leagues.

5. The competitive format

The league features a rapid-fire progression structure. The five franchises will first clash in a single round-robin group stage. Following the group stage, the 4th and 5th-placed teams square off in an elimination playoff.

The winner of that sudden-death shootout joins the top three league finishers in the high-stakes Super 4 phase, which ultimately determines the two grand finalists who will battle on Sunday, 14 June.

6. How it compares to global leagues

Unlike sprawling two-month spectacles like the IPL or the Big Bash League, EUT20 Belgium operates on a sprint format mimicking the highly successful Abu Dhabi T10 or the Major League Cricket (MLC) launch templates.

By consolidating all operations at the 12 Stars Cricket Club, it focuses heavily on high broadcast quality, dense schedules, and heavily international-flavoured playing XIs designed to rapidly cultivate a local sporting fanbase from scratch.

Read next: Anatomy of a prodigy – Decoding Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s strike rates per phase of the innings

The post European revolution – Everything you need to know about EUT20 Belgium appeared first on Cricket365.



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