Smart of Joe to go!

Joe Rootrsquos decision to relieve himself from the England captaincy hasnrsquot been followed by sourcebased stories of him getting the sackDoubtless though the Yorkshireman was under severe scrutiny especially after the series loss in the West Indies Everyone and anyone in English cricket seemed to be calling for his head before he decided enough was enoughIrsquom reminded of what author Christopher Douglas wrote of Douglas Jardine in his 1984 book on the Bodyline controversyentrenched England captain In the chapter The Stigma Borne with Dignity which dwelled on Jardinersquos retirement from the game after the 193334 tour of India Douglas wrote ldquoHaving been the object of such intense public scrutiny for so long Jardine must have felt rather like a star turn leaving the stage to the sound of his own footstepsrdquoStatistically Root won more than he lost under the captainrsquos hat but by only Test won 27 lost 26 but it shouldnrsquot be forgotten that he led in the time of a pandemic which tested everybody and the sides he led were often ordinaryThough he had the luxury of James Anderson and Stuart Broad they didnrsquot always play as a pair and we can never be sure if Root was supportive of that strange rest policy which cropped up from time to time Cricket followers couldnrsquot believe that England would go into the first Test of an Ashes series Brisbane 2021 without Anderson and Broad And it came as no surprise to see Australia giving them a ninewicket thrashingTwo heavy Ashes series losses 201718 and 202122 on Australian soil would have left Root deeply scarred but he should also enjoy some level of satisfaction in helping Engalnd continue to deny Australia of an Ashes series win on English soil since 2001Rootrsquos captaincy exit which came after Virat Kohlirsquos call to quit the captaincy in January now means that India and England will not have the same captains in the pending fifth Test of last summerrsquos Pataudi Trophy series to be held at Edgbaston in JulyOne marvelled at the fact that the cares of captaincy didnrsquot affect Rootrsquos method of getting runs for his side He scored two hundreds in his last three Tests as captain in the Caribbean In the four Tests against India last year his scores were 64 109 180 not out 33 121 21 and 36 If anyone deserves to complete 10000 Test runs which he is 111 shy of it is RootBack to the fact that he didnrsquot allow the selectors to sack him as captain Some of the biggest names in English cricket have had to undergo that embarrassment and Root will be happy that he himself dictated his fateDavid Gower that elegant batsman and dignified leader had returned to the Lordrsquos dressing room from his postmatch media duties after losing the opening Test of 1986 series when he was told by former captain and chief selector Peter May that he would no longer lead EnglandThis was the same Gower who led England to an overseas Test series win against India in 1985 which of course came in between two whitewashes inflicted by the West IndiesMike Gatting who succeeded Gower lost his job due to an alleged affair with a barmaid in 1988 He also caused many English cricket diehard supporters to cringe when he argued with Pakistan umpire Shakoor Rana not long before the barmaid scandalGatting was a fine skipper and that great success England enjoyed in the 198687 Australian summer wins in the Test series ODI triangular and Perth Challenge was no fluke Peter Roebuck the departed accomplished writer wrote in Ashes to Ashes ldquoPerhaps the clue to this series as to so many others lay in the relationship between Ian Botham and his captain Gatting demanded that Botham work hard in the nets from the start of the tour He treated him like any other player and this time Bothamrsquos genius was incorporated into the team effort rather than living independently of itrdquoTalking of Botham the great allrounder had good reason to believe that he resigned and was not sacked as England captain In Head On he wrote about telling his teammates that he had decided to quit as captain after the second Test of the 1981 Ashes ended in a draw And after chief selector Alec Bedser accepted his resignation Bedser announced to the media that Botham had resigned but ldquowe were going to sack him anywayrdquoSomething similar happened in 1975 when Mike Dennessrsquos head was on the chopping block after he led an England team that succumbed to an innings defeat to old enemy Australia at Birmingham Denness wrote in I Declare ldquoI was sacked as captain of England that is the way it looked to the cricketing public ndash but before that announcement was made I had already decided on the second morning of the first Test at Edgbaston that I would resign It was not because I knew what was coming it was because I felt rightly or wrongly that I had been knifed in the backrdquo wrote Denness who had led England to a devastating Ashes campaign in 197475If at all Root has read about such captaincy stories hersquod probably feel less mortifiedHow should the world remember Root as captain of his country Yes that he didnrsquot appear astute would come into it but what England allrounderturnedjournalist Vic Marks wrote in The Guardian late last month before Root made his decision seemed apt ldquoHe is not the worst captain we have ever had Nor the best He is a thoroughly decent wellrespected leader genuinely devoted to the game and by a terrifying margin Englandrsquos best batterrdquoIndeedmiddayrsquos group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance He tweets ClaytonMurzelloSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper