Joe Root Is A 'Poor Captain' But A 'Fine Batter', Says Ian Chappell

Former Australia captain Ian Chappell said England Test captain Joe Root is a fine batter but a poor captain. He added that as a Test skipper, Root has lacked imagination and runs out of ideas quickly.

Root was recently named as the ICC Men's Test Cricketer of the Year for scoring 1708 runs in 15 matches with six centuries, including two double hundreds in 2021.

But Root the captain in 2021 was a pale shadow of his run-making self, winning just four out of 15 matches and losing nine, including losing the Ashes in Australia 4-0, inviting criticism from all quarters.

"The captaincy failure, despite having led his country more times than any other captain, is Joe Root. It doesn't matter what Root or any other English devotee tells you, Root is a fine batter but a poor captain. He was never going to be a successful leader," wrote Chappell in his column for ESPNCricinfo on Sunday.

Chappell pointed out where Root the Test captain has fallen short. "Though England under him have a reasonably presentable record at home, Root has lacked imagination as a captain, quickly run out of ideas, and showed little 'gut feel' for the game. Too often his choice of bowlers to begin a session caused head-scratching, but the real killer were his tactics: they often made no sense."

The 78-year-old felt that Root makes decisions based on what others in the team say apart from luck and injuries coming in the mix too.

"There is a distinct feeling that Root listened to far too many off-field advisers. A good captain has to take charge and this was an area where Root failed dismally.

"There's no doubt his last tour was badly hampered by player injuries and he was poorly treated by fate. Nevertheless ten Tests for eight losses and two unflattering draws is a fair summation of Root's leadership in Australia. It was poor captaincy accompanied by bad luck."

Chappell remarked that Root used to talk about learning from mistakes in the press conferences but England never seemed to implement that.

"In press conferences Root kept saying, 'We are going to learn from our mistakes and take the positives out of this match.' This raised the question of precisely when they were going to learn.

"England kept making the same mistakes under Root and rarely learned. Although it will be a difficult task, if England want to improve, they first have to find a new and capable captain."

Chappell signed off by saying that veteran pacer Stuart Broad shouldn't be seen as Root's successor in Test captaincy. "To suggest that the answer to the leadership void is Stuart Broad lacks understanding of cricket captaincy. Apart from Broad's advanced (cricket) age and articulate off-field responses, he's a negative influence -- particularly with field placings -- and would be a poor choice as captain."