How Root brought welcome calm on return as England captain

When Joe Root left the field for the first time in his second stint as England's Test captain, he did so with Harry Brook's arm over his shoulder.

Two Yorkshiremen. Two England batters. The only two candidates when England needed to replace Ben Stokes as skipper.

Brook could have appeared scorned after being overlooked for his friend and team-mate. Root could have been keen to show he is the one with the power once again.

Instead, the pair dovetailed throughout as England took the first steps in recovering from previous turmoils to dismiss Pakistan for 171 on day one of their new era at Headingley. It was an encouraging start.

Root had already celebrated his return by winning the toss and watching Ollie Robinson take a wicket with the game's first ball, and the match was only five balls old when Brook's influence was first felt.

As Pakistan number three Shan Masood poked, Brook, who has shown himself a canny tactician as white-ball captain, suggested a reinforced gully region.

Root, who was criticised for his feel during his first spell in charge, was happy to agree, though a ruthless streak was soon shown when Jofra Archer was hooked from the attack after two wayward overs with the new ball.

Positioned at mid-off rather than the slips, and with his two young children watching on, he expertly controlled the flow of the game.

Root has made the move from the slips - where he has taken more than two thirds of his joint-record 218 Test catches - to make it easier for him to be in the ear of his bowlers.

It also allowed him to ensure the ball was always returned to the bowler via their captain. Nothing could happen until the 35-year-old had let go of the ball.

Captaining from mid-off was a tactic used by Root's predecessor Stokes and former skipper Michael Vaughan – another influential figure in Root's career, having come through the same Sheffield club.

"I might not be as dynamic as Ben but we'll see if we can make it work," Root said on Tuesday.

In Ollie Robinson, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue he has an exciting pace quartet but one still raw.

Root appeared keen not to overbear. Overs from Ollie Robinson would go by without any meaningful conversation between captain and bowler. A word before the first ball, another after the sixth.

Stokes was a hands-on skipper, always chatting and encouraging, but Root quietly observed.

"One of the big challenges is not trying to be Ben Stokes," was another of Root's pre-match comments.

He is right to do this his way, even if there are tweaks from what has come before.

The result was Robinson being left to make his own calls. He is captain at Sussex, the next oldest member of this squad after Root at 32, and has the skill to execute his own plan.

After pinning Azan Awais with his first ball, the seamer probed Masood's outside edge from round the wicket before switching the angle of his attack in his third over.

An inswinger had Masood plumb lbw and Root celebrated with that child-like enthusiasm from his early England days with both arms high above his head.

"He was good at just telling me he was moving the field and then to carry on bowling the same way," Robinson said.

"Between the four bowlers, Joe and Harry we were discussing plans, discussing what was working.

"Brooky is always great on the field. He is the go-between guy and, standing at slip, can see different things."

Robinson, with his average pace of 78.4mph here and previous frustrations about his attitude and fitness, was discarded under Stokes and previous coach Brendon McCullum.

He made his debut under Root in the first Test against New Zealand at Lord's in 2021 – a match which has been the stick used to beat his captaincy record after a cautious England turned down a chase of 273 – and was last man out in Hobart at the end of Root's second Ashes defeat as captain down under in 2021-22.

Both losses came in the run of one win in 17 Tests at the end of Root's tenure.

With an immaculate 5-51 here – accurate and relentless as Tongue and Atkinson took time to locate their rhythm and Archer never found it – Robinson proved just how crucial he will be to Root and this team's rebirth.

Of course it was not all perfect.

As Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique built a partnership of 91 in the afternoon the crowd became distracted.

There was, as England struggled for a breakthrough for 23.2 overs, a fear the absence of Stokes the bowler rather than captain would become the story of the day.

Root, again called to the crease to bat inside 10 overs before the day was out, does not have the all-rounder to break a game open this time around. He will have been grateful for Imam's loose drive to Tongue on 42 which opened the door.

Throughout it all, Root was as restrained with his fields as he was with his words.

Stokes resembled the kid given the keys to the sweetshop on his first morning as skipper, fielding five slips at one stage against New Zealand. At times it brought him great success.

Though Root did at least allow Tongue three slips and two leg slips for his hat-trick ball after tea, he stuck with three for the most part here and barely ventured into the funky.

Root joked on Tuesday his "natural persona" may be suited to bringing a sense of calm to one of English cricket's most chaotic summers.

Greedier batters, flatter surfaces and poorer performances will provide tougher days, but here Root brought a welcome calmness on his return as skipper.