Not Surprised To See Joe Root Leading England, Says Jason Gillespie

Feb 17, 2017 at 4:48 PM

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Not Surprised To See Joe Root Leading England, Says Jason Gillespie

Yorkshire’s Joe Root is England’s newest Test captain and his county’s ex-coach Jason Gillespie is happy about it. Among many, who vouched for him to lead England, Gillespie was one of them. Having seen him grow in-front of his eyes, the seamer knows what Root is capable of.

Learning that he hasn’t captained England and not even his county in any format, many would question his selection over Stuart Broad, who led England in T20Is for nearly three years. However, Gillespie feels not having tasted leadership before won’t unsettle Root, as he has played 53 Tests under Alastair Cook, which would be enough for him to boost his confidence as a captain+.

Speaking to Cricket Australia, Gillespie said Root has got the right attributes of a captain and his age is his biggest plus point. He further gave a nod to Cook’s timing of stepping down as the skipper, saying he did it at the right time and now feels English cricket is in safe hands.

“There’s been a lot of talk (about) ‘is he ready? He hasn’t had much experience. He’ll be fine, he’s played 53 Test matches now. He’s 26 years of age. I think it’s the right time. He had the attributes where you said, ‘yeah, he could captain England one day’. So it’s not a surprise to me to see leading England.”

“Once he got into the England set-up, the respect he commanded as a player and even as a young player (was noticeable). I think Alastair Cook made the right decision to step aside and now its Joe’s turn.”

Talking about youngsters taking hold of captaincy, all of the four widely regarded batsmen; Virat Kohli (India), Steven Smith (Australia), Kane Williamson (New Zealand) and Joe Root (England), are now the leaders of their respective countries in at least one format and Jason Gillespie couldn’t get more excited about anything.

Emphasizing on his keenness to watch Joe Root battle it out for supremacy in summer Ashes in Australia, the 41-year-old said he cannot wait to see him (Root) take on the mighty Aussies.

“It’s an exciting time for cricket. We’ve got four young men at the top of the game leading their countries. It’s an exciting time as a supporter of the game. I’m really looking forward to the Ashes next time in Australia at the end of this year. Two young captains leading their countries, I think it’s going to be fantastic.”

Gillespie, who played 71 Tests under two different skippers, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting, knows how change in approach can make a difference in results. As Root’s former coach, he suggested him to inherit the proactive mindset, unlike the defensive one, his predecessor Alastair Cook had.

“Joe will be a slightly different captain to Cooky (Cook). He’ll look to be very proactive. But I think having ‘Cooky’ in his corner supporting him will give Joe some balance. He’ll feel good knowing he’s got Cooky there to lean on along with rest of his senior players. He’ll take time to grow into the role and some mistakes along the way. But I think he will be a fine captain for England.”

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