Michael Vaughan: England fight for Joe Root, he should stay as captain

Root has overseen a difficult Ashes campaign, hindered by meagre preparation and poor batting performances, leading some to suggest it is time for him to handover the reins

Michael Vaughan has backed Joe Root to stay on as England Test captain.

Root has overseen a difficult Ashes campaign, hindered by meagre preparation and poor batting performances, leading some to suggest it is time for him to handover the reins.

However, Vaughan does not want to see a change, and instead says the 30-year-old is the right man for the job.

^{Joe Root should stay as England Test captain, Michael Vaughan says}

"I can understand why people are calling for Joe to step down," Vaughan wrote in his Telegraph column.

"But this week I saw a team fighting like hell for him. It is not like they do not want to play for him, they just haven’t been good enough in Australia.

"He has made mistakes with selection and tactics but that is the least of my worries. It is more to do with how we create our players coming through that is the issue.

"Joe needs a bit of change in personnel to give him a few new voices to talk to and bring a different mindset and mentality to the group."

Vaughan has also called for the "leadership group" within the England team to be expanded, so there are more trusted lieutenants on hand to support the skipper.

"Leadership is not about seniority. You can be a leader in your outlook and how you carry yourself as a 20-year-old," he wrote.

"Just because you are 35 and played 100 Tests does not mean you are a leader. You are a senior player. There is a big difference.  The white ball team has four or five people who can captain the side and it would not change the result. The Test team have one. That is it."

Joe Root should stay as England Test captain, Michael Vaughan says

Root is understood to be keen to stay on as captain through the trip to the Caribbean in March and into the English summer, and he has the support of the dressing room.

First, he needs to negotiate the fifth Test against Australia in Hobart.

England have already lost the series, but a rearguard effort at the SCG last week prevented a whitewash.

They will be without Jos Buttler for the final game of the series, under the lights at the Blundstone Arena, with the wicketkeeper flying home to become his recovery from a broken finger.

Sam Billings will make his red-ball debut for his country in Hobart.

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