Joe Root, England’s newly reinstated Test captain, has made the decision to remove a team curfew that had been in place following the 4-1 Ashes defeat earlier this year. The curfew was originally implemented after Root and Gus Atkinson were suspended for breaching the restriction during England’s recent series against New Zealand.
Nasser Hussain expressed approval for Root’s decision to eliminate the curfew, characterizing it as a mature approach to team management. Hussain argued that maintaining a curfew indicates a loss of control and serves little purpose, as someone will inevitably violate it. He advocated for treating professional athletes as adults and using financial penalties or squad omission as disciplinary measures rather than imposing blanket restrictions.
However, Hussain expressed reservations about Root’s tactical capabilities as a leader, noting that despite being an exceptional batter with strong game awareness, Root appeared to lack feel for match situations during the recent Test against New Zealand at The Oval. Hussain suggested Root was attempting to emulate the aggressive approach of his predecessor Ben Stokes but fell short in execution. Hussain also noted he would have preferred Harry Brook to assume the captaincy, citing Brook’s demonstrated feel for the game in white-ball cricket, though he acknowledged scheduling constraints may have influenced the decision.
Michael Atherton, who recently interviewed Root, suggested the captain accepted the role both out of duty and genuine excitement about leading the team. Atherton noted that few alternatives existed given the reluctance to assign Brook multiple formats of captaincy following an incident at a nightclub the previous winter. Atherton indicated Root plans to retain elements of the previous ‘Bazball’ approach introduced under Brendon McCullum while imposing his own tactical identity, without forcing a predetermined playing style on the squad.
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