The China Mail - Root adamant England don't need 'huge change' to Bazball style

England head into their first Test since the exits of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum when they face Pakistan at Headingley in a match starting Wednesday.

Then-captain Stokes dramatically announced his retirement from international cricket during the third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge in June.

McCullum was sacked as England's Test coach following the team's seventh red-ball loss in nine matches, although he remains in charge of the limited-overs sides.

England's decision to return the captaincy to Root, who earned a reputation for cautious leadership during an initial five-year reign that ended unhappily in 2022, suggested they wanted to ditch some of the ultra-attacking tactics associated with Stokes's reign.

But Root, speaking to reporters at Headingley on Tuesday, insisted: "I don't think there's a huge amount we need to change. It's small things that will make a big difference.

"It's not about ripping it up, I think it's about keeping a lot of the good stuff we've been doing for a period of time, stuff that Ben and Baz (McCullum) built for a long while."

"I don't believe there is one way of playing Test cricket," the 35-year-old added.

"You've got to be adaptable and play the situation. It's never the same throughout five days, there's different challenges and you've got to adjust to the ebbs and flows throughout."

Root was eventually ground down by the captaincy towards the end of his first spell in charge, saying it had "sucked the life out of me".

But he said Tuesday he was looking forward to leading England in the three-Test series against Pakistan.

"The landscape is different," he said. "I'm a different player and person than I was when I (first) took over as captain.

"I'm in a very fortunate, unique position where I've got 60-odd games of experience to look back on. There are things I might want to change and do slightly differently.

"I had time to step away, play in a different environment, different coach, different captain, and see the game from a different lens.

"In many ways I feel as ready as any other England captain that's been before, and to have that amount of experience is invaluable."

C.Fong--ThChM