Joe Root’s record as Test captain for England

Many news outlets have confirmed that, after the retirement of Ben Stokes, Joe Root would become England Test Captain. Ben Stock had announced his retirement on  June 28, 2026, in the middle of the Test series against New Zealand .

ECB (England Cricket Board) had also fired the Head coach of the England Cricket Team, Brendon McCullum. According to reports , Joe Root will lead the England team in the Test format, while Harry Brook is leading England in the ODIs and T20 format . Lets take a look on Joe Root’s record as Test captain for England.

Joe Root had been England team captain from 2017 to 2022 before giving up his captaincy to Ben Stocks. Joe Root has captained England in 64 Test matches . Joe Root has successfully lifted the team during his captaincy with his sharp strategies and world-class batting . Joe Root reached a milestone by leading England in the Test format; previously, this record was held by Alastair Cook, who led England from 2010 to 2016 in 59 Test matches.

Joe Root’s record as Test captain for England

Joe Root had captained England in 64 Test Matches . His batting ability is always talked about by cricket pundits, but as England’s Test captain, he has had significant success. Under Joe Root’s leadership , England won 27 Test matches and lost 26, while 11 Test matches were drawn . Joe Root’s captaincy, England’s win percentage is 42.19, making him one of the most successful Test captains for England.

Joe Root surpasses the legendary England captain Michael Vaughan as the most successful captain for England.  Michael Vaughan held the record for the most successful Test captaincy with 26 victories and 11 losses in his 51 Test matches as captain. Joe Root broke the record of  Michael Vaughan on August 28, 2021. When England defeated India by an innings and 76 runs, Root registeredd his27th7th victory as England captain.

Most Successful England Test Captain

Joe leads the table with 27 victories as skipper in 64 Test matches.

Joe Root Milestones and Series Victories as England Captain

Joe Root’s captaincy ability has helped England win Test matches in Asian Countries . England registered their historic Test series victory against Sri Lanka in 2018 under his captaincy. The England cricket team has never whitewashed Sri Lanka in a Test series after 1963 . Root’s brilliant captaincy and sharp strategies helped England whitewash Sri Lanka .

England 4-1 home series victory against India (2018)

In 2018 , England registered a comfortable Test Series victory against India . England dominated the series and won the series by 4-1 against a strong India . After 2018, the England team never won a Test series in their home conditions against India. The 2021-2022 India tour of England ended in a 2-2 series draw. In the 2025 India tour of England under Shubman Gill, India was again able to draw the Test series 2-2.

Joe Root: England Bounce back after losing the first Test match against the home team, South Africa (2019/2020)

England had lost the First Test Match against South Africa by 107 Runs. England needed to chase down 376 runs in the 4th innings, but South Africa’s bowlers pulled England back and bowled them out for 268 runs . England bounced back after the 1st Test defeat and won three back-to-back Test matches, marking England’s dominance in South Africa. England clinched the Test Series and won the test series by 3-1 .

Under Joe Root’s captaincy, England never won the Ashes

Joe Root continues to score runs as captain but failed to be as successful in captaincy in the Ashes . Joe Root has scored 2,828 runs in 39 Test Matches for England . Joe Root has batted in 75 innings and scored 2,828 runs with an astonishing average of 40.98 . But as captain, Joe Root has never proven himself worthy in the Ashes . In the 2017-18 Ashes, England’s tour of Australia, England suffered a humiliating 4- 0 defeat under Joe Root’s captaincy. In 2019 , Australia were successful in leveling the Ashes 2- 2, marking England’s failure to win the Ashes at home. In 2021-2022, Australia again clinched the Ashes 4-0, marking their dominance. Joe Root was successful as a batter but failed as captain in the Ashes.

Joe Root’s captaincy record in the Ashes

Joe Root has captained England in 3 Ashes series(2017-18,2019,2021-22) . Under his captaincy, England has played 15 Ashes matches, registering 2 wins and 10 losses, while 3 matches were drawn.

Joe Root stepped down as England Test captain

Joe Root stepped down from captaincy in 2022 and handed over the captaincy burden to Ben Stock. Joe Root was heavily criticized by English fans after the Ashes defeat . But Joe Root had clearly rejected the reports that, due to pressure and toll, he stepped down .

Joe Root runs as captain for the England Cricket Team

Joe Root has captained England in 64 Test matches, during which he has scored 5,295 runs at an average of 46.44. Root is known for timing the ball sweetly, as he showed his aggression with the bat .  Joe has smashed 14 centuries and 26 half-centuries as Test captain for England, showing the class and temperament under the pressure of captaincy.  Joe Root has 3 double centuries under his tenure as skipper of England . His first double century as skipper came against New Zealand, where Root scored a brilliant knock of 226 runs in Hamilton. Joe Root hammered 2021, where he smashed another two double centuries against India ( 218 runs) and Sri Lanka with an unbeatable knock of 228 runs in Galle.

Joe Root dominated the year 2021 as a batter under the captaincy burden

Joe Root, the perfect test batter, emerged in the year 2021 with the momentum he scored . In 2021, Joe Root scored 1,708 runs in a calendar year with 6 Test centuries in 15 Test Matches .

Joe Root’s record as a batter in calendar year 2021-

• Runs: 1708
• Matches: 15
• Centuries : 6
• Double Centuries : 2
• Half- Centuries : 4
• Batting Average : 61.00

Also Read- Ravi Shastri’s record as coach in England

CricketKeeda