Shane Warne: Root to bring aggression back
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Shane Warne has backed new England Test captain Joe Root to follow his attacking batting style with his captaincy as well. Root will take charge of England for the first time at Lord's against South Africa on July 6th and Warne believes that he will be a lot more proactive than Alastair Cook.
Shane Warne was never the biggest fan of Alastair Cook’s leadership qualities and the former spin king has never hidden his feelings about the Englishman, particularly during the initial stages of Cook’s tenure at the helm.
Therefore, it’s perhaps understandable why Warne is looking forward to Joe Root’s spell at the helm. Warne has also backed Root to be a lot more proactive than his predecessor. As reported by Cricket.com.au Warne said, "I think he has a bit more flair than Alastair Cook.”
Further, the former Aussie leg spinner did acknowledge that Cook did get better as his tenure went on, as he said, "I think Alastair Cook got better - no one is their best version of themselves as captain when they start. I was very critical of Alastair Cook at the start because he wasn't making a run either, and I didn't think he captained the side that well. But that was three or four years ago.”
However, Warne expects Root to be a completely different leader than Cook and take the game to the opposition "Alastair Cook had a lot of strengths ... (but) I think (Root) will be a lot different tactically."
Though Cook was known for patience, Warne believes that this is exactly what cost England opportunities to win matches, particularly against India last year. "Even recently in India, England had a great chance to win that first Test but batted too long. That's been a bit of a sign with England, where they've just batted a bit too long (so) they can't lose the game.”
"I hope Root will be a little bit more: 'We're going to try and win this'.
Moreover, given that Root is an aggressive player by nature, Warne hopes that the England coaching staff give him the freedom to follow his natural instincts. "He's aggressive, and takes the game on - he likes to be positive all of the time - so I hope that rubs off in his captaincy. I hope (it's) like the way he bats.”
