Ahead of his second stint as England’s Test captain, Joe Root vowed to ‘evolve with the rhythm of the game.’
In contrast to the clunkiness that marred the back end of his initial five-year tenure, the moves made in response to events unfolding amid the home comforts of Headingley took on a much more natural feel.
Root’s first call was to ask Pakistan to bat at a venue unique for its dramatic mood swings. Look up not down, they say, when making such decisions, because if the sun is out, the pitch becomes exceedingly flat, as it did when England chased 371 to beat India on the final day here last year.
However, under cloud cover, the ball can hoop round corners. And this, as the man himself acknowledged by referencing ‘the overhead conditions and moisture under the surface’ was a bowling day.
With three new-ball operators in England’s XI, there was also an early decision to make on who would get choice of ends – and indeed who would be held back until first change.
Joe Root ended the day unbeaten on 37 after a successful first day in his second spell as captain
Root was there at the end alongside Jordan Cox, making his first appearance at No 3
Root opted for Ollie Robinson’s ability to extract sideways movement over Jofra Archer’s extra pace or Gus Atkinson’s hustling accuracy and was vindicated when, from the first ball of the match from the Kirkstall Lane end, Pakistan’s rookie left-handed opener Azan Awais was trapped leg before.
There could not have been a better start to Root’s 66th match in charge than Chris Gaffaney raising his finger and the smiles and laughter continued unabated until Root responded to a huge jagging delivery from the fifth delivery of the over by shifting himself to second gully for the sixth.
Not that he stayed there for long. Some captains like to orchestrate things from the slip cordon: Root’s predecessors Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook, England’s incoming Test coach Stephen Fleming and Australian great Mark Taylor amongst them.
Root also did this in the past, but having vacated first slip, and given up the job of chief ball-polisher in a bid to improve communication with his bowlers, standing on their shoulders at mid-off as Stokes had done during a four-year tenure, his stay was short-lived.
And in contrast to his captaincy performance as Stokes’ stand-in amid the midsummer chaos at the Oval when he unsuccessfully attempted to emulate some of his great friend’s funkiness, here he played the waiting game.
The trade-off for abandoning the close-catching cordon alongside Jamie Smith was a diminished perspective on DRS decisions and, duped by the enthusiasm of his team-mates, two reviews were wasted in the 50 minutes possible before rain stopped play: Imam-ul-Haq surviving a leg before claim by Robinson and one of caught behind off Atkinson that clipped pad rather than bat.
Root blew two of England’s reviews in the first 10 overs, failing to have an LBW and caught behind call overturned
Those moments aside, Root was calm personified, rotating each of his four seamers and their ends.
He also took decisive action following a couple of flattering maidens by Jofra Archer from the football stand end of the ground, introducing Atkinson up the hill as early as the sixth over.
Root undoubtedly struggles to get the best out of Archer, as Stokes did, and the dynamic of their renewed relationship will remain under scrutiny this series. Changing ends did not improve Archer’s radar.
Root spent the second over of Archer’s second spell at third slip, maintaining an attacking field in the knowledge that catches here are commonly taken behind the wicket.
One challenge for Root will be getting the best from bowler Jofra Archer
Both in the pre-match huddle and during drinks, Root emphasised the need for fielders to take their chances here given that spells of sunshine coincide with run gluts.
Root also conversed with his vice captain Harry Brook during that second break in play, the hand gestures between them suggesting anticipation of a nick ending a disciplined stand of 91 between Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique.
Within half an hour it came to pass: Brook clasping a fine low catch at second slip to reward Root’s patience.
Only once Pakistan had lost half their team did he get creative with the field, posting two men on the drive either side of the wicket, as Robinson bowled straight with wicketkeeper Smith up to the stumps. When Josh Tongue found himself on a hat-trick, in came two short legs.
This was a day for traditional Test tactics, of line and length, of waiting for opponents to step out of sync – and Root, on this occasion, didn’t miss a beat.
