Joe Root says he is still the man to ‘take England forward’ after series defeat

With speculation about his future as England captain at fever pitch after England slumped to defeat against West Indies in Grenada to confirm another lost series, Joe Root has recommitted himself to the role, insisting the team are rapidly improving and that he remains the best person to lead them into the next phase of their development.

England have now won just one of their past 17 Tests, and for the first time in their 145-year history they have not won any of five successive series.

Five years after his appointment as captain Root’s leadership has been savagely criticised, particularly since the third-day collapse that left England on 103 for eight overnight in their second innings and leading by just 10 runs. They extended that to 27 before Jack Leach became the last wicket to fall, and West Indies romped to their victory target in less than five overs and without losing a wicket.

“I think I’ve spoken quite enough on the subject,” Root said about the captaincy. “I am very passionate about taking this team forward. I made that clear ahead of the game and that is not going to waver.

“I know this is a results-based business but it does not feel like we are far away from getting results. I’ll throw everything at it, do anything I can to help England win. That’s not going to change. I’m very passionate about being the man to take this team forward.”

The first two Tests of the series were drawn, and in the decider England’s top seven batters scored a total of 127 runs across their two innings, of which the opener Alex Lees was responsible for 49%. Root himself scored only five. “For the majority of this series we played so much good cricket and made big strides forward as a team,” he said.

“We showed improvements in a