GEORGE DOBELL AT LORD'S: Root stood down at the end of the Caribbean tour having seen his side win just one of their last 17 Tests but was the architect of their first victory in 10 months, scoring 115 not out to help beat New Zealand
Joe Root has admitted the England captaincy took a "bad toll on my health" and relinquishing it has "lifted a big weight" from his shoulders
Root, who captained England in a record 64 Tests, stood down at the end of the Caribbean tour having seen his side win just one of their last 17 Tests. And while his own form with the bat had remained excellent in that period, he now admits the pressures of the job had become "unhealthy".
Root was named player of the match in the first LV= Insurance Test of the summer after seeing his side to their first victory in 10 months with an unbeaten century. It was his third Test century of the year and his ninth since the start of 2021. It was also an innings that took him to 10,000 Test runs. He is just the 14th man to reach the milestone and has, at 31 years and 157 days, equalled Alastair Cook's record as the youngest man to do so.
Afterwards, he admitted his relief at returning to the ranks and his determination to repay the loyalty of Ben Stokes, his new captain, who had produced so many match-winning performances when Root led the side.
"It had become a very unhealthy relationship to be honest, the captaincy and me," Root said. "It started to really take a bad toll on my own personal health.
Root was the toast of Lord's after his match-winning knock (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
"I couldn't leave it at the ground anymore. It was coming home. It wasn't fair on my family or on people close to me. And it wasn't fair on myself, either.
"I had thrown everything at it and I was determined to help turn this team around. But I realised over that time at home that it would have to be in a different way.
"I obviously tried as much as I could, but I think I was unaware of how much it was grabbing hold of me. I just needed to make the decision. I made the decision and I knew it was the right thing to do. I felt like a big weight had been lifted and I immediately felt a lot better.
"As hard as it was, obviously it's been a huge privilege and something that I'm extremely proud to have done. But it's time for a new phase in my career. And one that I'm very much looking forward to, seeing one of my best mates now take this team forward.
"Was the century one of my best? It certainly feels that way at the minute. I did ride my luck a little bit but hopefully, I'll be able to remember it for a while"
"I'm proud of the way I did the role. I'll do anything I can to help England win Test matches and be a side people enjoy watching and can be proud of. But it got to the stage where it was time for someone else to lead."
As captain, Root had cause on many occasions to be grateful for the contributions of his old friend Stokes. So he was particularly delighted to be able to help repay the favour by contributing such an important innings in Stokes' first match as the Test team's permanent captain.
"I'm very excited to do everything I can to help Ben really turn this team around and make it the force it should and can be," Root said. "That's a great motivator for me moving forward with the amount of amazing things Ben did for this team under my leadership.
"It's my turn now. It's a great opportunity for me in the next phase of my career to do that for him. I'm not sure I'll be able to do some of the things he has done but I can certainly try."
Root joined Cook is going past the 10,000-run landmark (Randy Brooks/Getty Images)
Delighted as Root was for the landmark achievement of 10,000 runs, it was the team victory that meant most to him.
"It's the win that pleases me most," he said. "You pride yourself on winning. Winning was all I could think about because it's been a long while for this team. It meant a huge amount to get over the line. It was very special to get the hundred and reach 10,000 runs, I can't pretend it wasn't, but nothing replicates winning games of cricket.
"Was the century one of my best? It certainly feels that way at the minute. I did ride my luck a little bit but hopefully, I'll be able to remember it for a while.
"Of course, it meant a huge amount to me, but when you walk through the dressing room or through the Long Room and you're high-fiving the rest of the group and you can see the genuine joy and elation on their faces... That's the one thing that I've missed the most, I suppose over the last year and a bit. And one thing I'm really looking forward to seeing a lot more of hopefully this summer.
"This is a very nice feeling. It's felt like a long time. But it's one that you want to feel over and over again. I hope we can replicate through the rest of the summer."
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