Joe Root Appointed Captain At The Right Time: Steve Waugh
Feb 15, 2017 at 3:32 PM
Joe Root has been appointed as England’s Test captain and Steve Waugh is all but happy with the timing. Speaking to ESPN, Waugh said Root has been handed the baton at the right time, given the important home series against South Africa shortly after the Champions Trophy.
Excited about seeing him taking the responsibility, Waugh feels Root will have enough time to settle the dust and prepare himself for the rivalry among rivalries, The Ashes, which will take place in Australia this year.
Waugh, who captained Australia in 57 Tests, said Root appears to take the dual workload of doing captaincy well and scoring runs at the same time quite nicely.
“I think the timing is very good. Particularly with the Ashes series coming up. It will give him a little bit of time to settle in the roll and have an expectation of winning the Ashes. So he will handle it well and looks like a guy who thrives on responsibility.”
The former Australian captain complimented Root’s batting saying he is technically sound and has it in him to motivate his players with his performance. He also explained his experience of captaining and gaining the best out it, saying he loved his job, and that it played a role in improving his batting too.
But Waugh also said the pressure of leading a side can have an adverse effect on some players but believes Yorkshire batsman can tackle all of them with much ease.
“He’s got a great technique, so he can handle most situations and then when he’s got an extra focus on being a leader it can motivate the players to play even better. I love the fact I was a captain and I played better as a batsman. Some players have the opposite effects. Too much pressure makes them think too much. If I was a batting mentor I would say his average would go up. The dynamics would be very different for him.”
Before concluding, he spilled some words of motivation for ex-captain Alastair Cook, claiming he has done a tremendous job for England and it would exciting to see how he approaches his career as a batsman now.