Joe Root, Stephen Fleming will begin England's new era | PC- X
England are set to start a new era, with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) naming Joe Root as the new Test captain and Stephen Fleming the Test head coach.
A debacle in the Ashes 2025/26 and the dramatic brawl at a London club brought down the curtains on Ben Stokes’ illustrious career.
Later, the ECB decided to rejig the whole team management as Brendon McCullum was removed from his role with the Test team.
Joe Root, Stephen Fleming among worst Test captain
The Joe Root-Stephen Fleming era is set to begin with the South Africa Test series, not from the Pakistan series onwards. England under Ben Stokes played 44 Test matches, with a record of 24 wins, 17 losses, and 2 draws, generating a win percentage of 54.54%.
Root, on the other hand, has a substandard record as Test captain, with 27 defeats in 65 matches. Under him, England once had an infamous record of not winning a game after 16 attempts.
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Among the most defeats as a Test captain, Root sits in the joint-second position, along with the incoming Test head coach, Stephen Fleming, who lost 27 games in 80 Tests for New Zealand.
South Africa’s legendary Graeme Smith (29) has the most losses as Test captain.
Most losses as Test Captain
- 29 defeats - Graeme Smith (109 matches)
- 27 defeats - Stephen Fleming (80 matches)
- 27 defeats - Joe Root (65 matches)
- 26 defeats - Brian Lara (47 matches)
- 22 defeats - Allan Border (93 matches)
- 22 defeats - Kraigg Brathwaite (39 matches)
- 22 defeats - Alastair Cook (59 matches)
- 21 defeats - Michael Atherton (54 matches)
- 21 defeats - Jason Holder (37 matches)
- 19 defeats - Misbah-ul-Haq (56 matches)
- 19 defeats - Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi (40 matches)
- 19 defeats - Arjuna Ranatunga (56 matches)
Joe Root drained under captaincy pressure, last time
Joe Root is England’s most experienced captain, with 65 matches under his belt. However, he has an interesting record under his name, winning and losing a similar number of matches, i.e. 27. Moreover, under him, the team drew 11 matches.
Among the all-timers, the legendary batter sits in seventh position. That said, Root’s stats as a batter evidently dropped when he captained the team. His average drops to 46.70 with added responsibility, while he enjoys an average of 53.34 playing just as a batter.
Moreover, the modern-day has been enjoying a purple form in his batting since 2022, slamming 24 Test centuries in that period.
CSK's ride full of highs and lows under Stephen Fleming
On the other hand, Stephen Fleming has been the most successful IPL coach, winning a record five trophies with Chennai Super Kings. That said, the franchise has been facing a slump since winning their last trophy in 2023, which is why they parted ways with the legendary coach.
Moreover, under him, CSK’s sister franchises, Joburg Super Kings (SA20) and Texas Super Kings (MLC), have failed to win trophies despite multiple attempts.
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