Former England skipper Michael Atherton has cast his doubts over Joe Root’s future as England Test captain if he loses the ongoing Ashes series. England are 2-0 down in the series courtesy of two big back-to-back losses. They lost the first Test at The Gabba by 8 wickets and fell short of the second Test in Adelaide by 275 runs.
Heading into the third Test, the England team has their backs against the wall. Speaking to The Times, Michael Atherton said that Root’s future as captain will be in doubt if he fails to win the Ashes series.
There Is No Alternative to Joe Root: Michael Atherton
“If the tour continues to go this badly, it is hard to see how Root will remain as captain. Ashes tours have often done for England captains and Root is nearer the end of his cycle than the beginning. There is not a rash of alternatives, but the notion that there is no one to take over is the worst rationale for keeping the job.”
Atherton also blamed the England management and also coach Chris Silverwood for making wrong team selections.
Michael Atherton Slams England’s Selection Policies in First Two Tests
“As the head coach and main selector, he has to shoulder along with Joe Root. There have been a rash of poor decisions so far – selection, mainly – for which he now has the final call. For the past 12 months, lots of selections have been suspect; the move to invest responsibility for selection with the head coach was always a bad one.”
The former England skipper said that the side needs to sort out their batting woes ahead of the third Test in Melbourne. He also suggested a few changes to be made.
“Bring in Mark Wood and Jack Leach, leave out Chris Woakes and whichever one of the other three seamers conditions and/or state of fitness demand. The batting needs urgent attention more generally, but given that no one else has played any cricket, I would give the same batsmen another chance.”
England’s team selection for the first two Tests were baffling to say the least. They decided to rest the experienced dup of James Andersin and Stuart Broad in the first Test. In the second Test at Adelaide, they decided to go with an all-seam attack on a pitch that assisted spinners.
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