Root

After taking a wicket with the first ball of the Test, England dominated Pakistan across two and a half rain-affected days.

They appeared more measured in their approach than during the ultra-aggressive Stokes-McCullum regime, but still scored at 4.55 runs per over – albeit against a poor Pakistan side.

“We played to the fashion that we wanted to,” Trescothick said.

“We wanted to be able to be clever and smart. There’s moments within the game we’ve done that brilliantly.

“We still have that mantra of applying pressure because that’s the best way of being dominant over teams, if you can put them under pressure.

“I did enjoy the fact we were still scoring quite quickly especially when the ball was new.”

New Zealander Stephen Fleming has been appointed as McCullum’s replacement but will not take charge until the winter tour of South Africa, leaving Trescothick as interim.

Fleming was in contact with Root and Trescothick “every day” during the win over Pakistan.

“He was adamant me and Joe take it on and just run with what we feel is right, to try and get the group back in shape, with a few pointers on what he wanted and how he could see his style being implemented within the group,” Trescothick said.

Trescothick has worked with England as a batting and assistant coach since 2021, but former Australia coach Mike Hussey has been approached by Fleming to be batting coach when he takes over.

Hussey worked with England under Michael Mott during their 2022 T20 World Cup win and with Fleming at Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League.

Trescothick could move to a white-ball only role, where McCullum remains England coach, but said he would “love” to stay on with the Test side.

“I want to be involved in all formats of the game because it’s a wonderful place to be,” he said.

“Working with the best and seeing England cricketers do well.

“That’s not really for me to judge so I’ll wait and see what happens.”

For Root, the innings victory sealed inside three days against Pakistan was the ideal start to his second spell as captain.

It also extended England’s run of wins at Headingley, which began in 2018. Their longest winning streak at another ground is six at Chester-le-Street.

The decision for Headingley and Old Trafford to miss out on the 2027 Ashes roster was announced in 2023.

But the match allocation has once again come into focus after the schedule for next year’s series was confirmed in July.

Nottingham’s Trent Bridge will be the most northerly ground to host a men’s Ashes Test, with Southampton given an England-Australia Test for the first time. Headingley will instead play host to a women’s Ashes Test.

Headingley staged a men’s Ashes Test in 2019 and 2023, both matches England won. The 2019 win, inspired by Ben Stokes, was one of the most legendary contests in Ashes history, ranking alongside Ian Botham’s heroics of 1981 on the same ground.

Overall, England’s record of nine home Ashes wins in Leeds is bettered only by their 17 at The Oval, and The Oval has hosted 36 Ashes Tests compared to Headingley’s 26.

“I would love to play as many games as possible here,” said Root. “It’s a great Test-match venue, a surface that provides brilliant Test cricket, and one we’ve had quite a lot of success on recently.

“It’s a shame we don’t get to play here next year, but I’m sure we will see many, many more brilliant Test matches here.”

Headingley will next host a men’s Ashes Test in 2031, from when the England and Wales Cricket has said it will keep at least one Test in Leeds or Manchester in the allocation for every home Ashes series. Southampton will get a Test in alternate men’s home Ashes.

Root, England’s greatest batter and a veteran of 166 Tests, said he hoped his “natural persona” is suited to bringing a sense of calm to the men’s national team.

Off-field issues dominated last winter’s tours, including an incident involving Harry Brook being punched by a nightclub bouncer in Wellington and the team’s drinking during a mid-Ashes trip to Noosa, culminating in a heavy 4-1 defeat by Australia.

The issues continued into the summer when Stokes broke a team curfew, setting in motion a chaotic six weeks that resulted in a 2-1 series defeat by New Zealand, Stokes’ retirement and the sacking of McCullum.

Fellow New Zealander Stephen Fleming has been appointed as McCullum’s replacement, but batting coach Marcus Trescothick will take interim charge of the Test side for the three-match series against Pakistan.

Root, who has already led England in 65 Tests having held the role between 2017 and 2022, said one of his “big challenges” is “trying not to be Ben Stokes”.

“He is a very unique player with unbelievable qualities that I don’t think are easy to replicate,” Root said. “I don’t think there is any point trying to.

“It is going to have a slightly different look to it but that is OK.

“There has been a lot of good stuff that has happened in the past four years that will serve us really well.

“It is about not ripping it up, just fine tuning and evolving that and taking that to the next level. We have got to find a way of evolving the team without him.”

More to follow

Sir Alastair Cook believes Joe Root is not the long-term solution to be England’s Test cricket captain, but is confident of his ability to lead the side for the next year and help take England forward with the home Ashes coming up in 2027.

READ MORE: Root in ‘very different place’ over Test captaincy

On Fleming, who, like Root, holds national records for matches and wins as Test captain, he added: “I’ve admired him from afar, first as a player and recently as a coach. To get the chance to work together is going to be great fun.

“Once I’d spoken to Stephen about it and saw his energy and excitement for it and saw we’re very aligned on it, I got excited very quickly.”

Root and Fleming inherit a side in disarray, with series defeats in Australia and at home by New Zealand – which brought criticism of England’s carefree playing style – coupled with a run of off-field disciplinary issues bringing the Bazball era to a disappointing conclusion when captain Stokes retired in June and coach Brendon McCullum was sacked a fortnight later.

The duo had previously overseen a resurgence in the Test side, winning 10 of their first 11 matches, and Root hopes he and Fleming can take inspiration from their tenure, rather than starting from scratch.

“Hopefully we can work and build on a lot of the good things that have happened over the last four years,” Root said.

“I think Brendon and Ben did a brilliant job, in many ways, of turning things around and getting us in a position where hopefully now we can carry that forward in a slightly different way.”

Expanding on his approach to his second captaincy in an in-house interview with the England & Wales Cricket Board, Root said: “The last four years have been the most fun I’ve had in professional cricket and a big part of that was down to the way they [McCullum and Stokes] got me to see the game.

“Clearly, the last little while is probably what’s fresh in everyone’s mind but you’re looking at a four-year period where we did a lot of amazing things. I’ve taken a lot from that and I feel it will be a big part of how I want to approach things moving forward as a leader of this team.

“The thing that stands out the most for me is the shift in mindset that was created around how we want to play the game – trying to strip the fear away from things, make sure guys feel that they can really just allow their talent to come out as frequently as possible and in big moments in games. The more that can happen, the better.

“If we can do that alongside recognising when the right time is to put pressure back on teams, or when the right time is to soak it up and to maybe play situations slightly differently, become a little bit smarter in certain areas, then I think we’ll be a very formidable team and a very difficult team to break down and to beat.”

ECO-conscious pop superstar Ed Sheeran has installed a £20,000 root cellar in his sprawling mansion’s garden.

The singer, 35, has set up the trendy structure near his vegetable patch to keep the produce cool.

The cellar is partially dug into the earth and covered by an earth mound for insulation — making it look like a Hobbit hole from Tolkien’s fantasy tales.

It uses the earth’s natural insulating qualities to keep contents at a cool 8C to 15C without electricity and can be used to store veg, cheese and wine.

The cellars, which can hold 3,000 litres, are a growing trend among celebrities, including US actress Jennifer Garner. Hollywood star Gwyneth Paltrow also had the high-end Groundfridge on her Goop brand’s gift guide.

Ed’s model features solar­powered ventilation and lights up when opened, just like a fridge. It costs £15,500 plus installation fees.

WEDDING MELS

Inside Mel C’s lavish wedding from menu to Geri & Mel B coming face to face

NOBODY DOES IT BEDDER

Vanessa Feltz opens up about DISASTROUS dates & lifts lid on new show

The Dutch firm says having a fridge in your kitchen is “too easy” and says it is “more fun” to get outside to grab produce.

Other energy-saving root cellars can also be bought from high street stores, including B&Q, which is selling one for £8,138.

It is the latest addition to Ed’s pad in Framlingham, Suffolk, which is dubbed “Sheeranville”.

The property also boasts a pub, tree house, underground music room, tunnels and a ­private chapel.

Joe Root says some England players are having to “learn on the job” in 50-over cricket because of a lack of exposure to the format.

Root was a class apart in the second one-day international at Cardiff with a chanceless 99 that led England to a four-wicket win in tricky conditions.

In domestic cricket, the One-Day Cup is played in the same window as The Hundred and has therefore become more of a developmental tournament.

Collectively, England’s top six batters on Thursday had played more than 400 matches fewer than their India counterparts in List A cricket (which combines one-day internationals with major domestic white-ball competitions).

“I think that’s one of the biggest challenges for this team and the young guys coming through,” Root, 35, said after England’s win.

“Not just now, but in the next little while, anyone coming into this team does not have the wealth of experience and understanding of 50-over cricket because we are not exposed to it any more.

“There is not that element of grounding that happens before you get to this level, which happens elsewhere around the world, so it’s understanding that there are going to be times where guys have to learn on the job and they have to learn quickly.”

England reached their target of 234 in the 45th over in a game which resembled a more traditional ODI, where Root’s knock – alongside Virat Kohli’s 65 in India’s innings – was based on strike rotation, playing the ball late and punishing anything loose.

Due to the conditions, it was a stark contrast to some of the batting produced by England’s World Cup-winning squad of 2019, but Root highlighted the importance of being able to adapt.

“You’ve got to be brave and know that you can absorb pressure, because you have always got more time than you think and you can really make things up,” Root added.

“The more gears you can have, then it’ll make you a better player in the long run.

“Some guys will get out their tricks, sometimes you’ll be on a pitch where 400 is a par score which can happen.

“But you have got to have range and the hardest bit for guys coming through in English cricket is that everyone who plays T20 cricket can manipulate the field and take the game on – but when you find yourself in a situation like that, a wicket like that, can you find a way of doing it ugly and just getting over the line?”

England have described the arrangement for the second Test as “interim”, and its impermanence seems important.

On Monday, when it first emerged that Stokes and Gus Atkinson were in hot water, there was an immediate feeling it would spell the end of Stokes’ captaincy.

It still may. There is an ongoing investigation. Stokes could decide to walk.

But, with every passing hour, the temperature is cooling. Stokes could return for the third Test at Trent Bridge or, more likely, the series against Pakistan later in the summer.

Still, Stokes has given a window into what England’s life might be without him. For the first time in his career, Stokes the cricketer is not indispensable. Earlier this week, head coach Brendon McCullum had to defend his batting, and back Stokes to return to form.

If Brook had been put in charge, England may have seen something they like. Brook and McCullum seemed more aligned during the T20 World Cup than Stokes and McCullum did during the Ashes.

Brook would have been captaining his peers, whereas Stokes leads a group of younger men, many of whom grew up idolising him. Maybe England would have found a Stokesless formation that makes them stronger: the leg-spin of Rehan Ahmed as the all-rounder, followed by four specialist seamers.

None of this becomes an issue with Root in charge. He will be all too happy to hand over the reins when the time comes.

These roles were once reversed. In the Covid summer of 2021, Stokes stepped in for one Test while Root was on paternity leave. Root left a note on Stokes’ peg in the dressing room which said: “Do it your way”.

Now, Root will do it his way. Clapping his hands from first slip, long sprints to talk to his bowlers. A smile on his face, maybe a classic Rootian century. Not the puffed-out chest of an alpha like Stokes, just the calm reassurance of English cricket’s most dependable presence.

Once again, it is Joe Root riding to England’s rescue.