NZ vs ENG | Joe Root is our captain and he takes us forward, insists Ashley Giles

England’s managing director Ashley Giles has urged the crowd and the fans to back the current skipper Joe Root despite the tied series against Australia and the series opener defeat against New Zealand. The captaincy has had a huge effect on Joe Root in the recent past, with his form dipping below the 30 mark and making a case for him to be dropped from the ‘Fab Four’ squad. 

After nearly averaging 45 in the past years, Root’s form has seen a huge drop with an average of 27.40 in 2019. However, Giles was confident that the introduction of Chris Silverwood as England’s coach would elevate Root’s lost form. 

"Joe is our captain and he takes us forward," Giles said to ESPNCricinfo. "The stats would say the captaincy has affected his batting. You can't hide from that. So we've got to work with him to make sure his game is in the best shape and he's got time to work on it away from the pressures of captaincy. I'm not quite sure what anyone is expecting me to say; 'we'll see how we go'? That's not a great vote of confidence in a captain," added Giles. 

However, Giles added that he would not be afraid to give the axe if the performances are not upto the standards that have been set in the past. Opportunities would be given, however, to Root to improve his form going into the final stage of the World Test Championship. 

"In any form or walk of life, you never stop learning, and we are starting a new sort of era now so I'm going to judge this team on where we are now and where we get to,” concluded Giles.