Joe Root tells England’s senior players to step up amid ODI slump

Joe Root has called on England’s most established one-day players to step up and help new captain Jos Buttler guide the side through its current transition phase.

After several years as the dominant force in white-ball cricket under Eoin Morgan, England have crashed back to earth this month following the Dubliner’s retirement.

His successor, Buttler, oversaw 2-1 defeats to India in the Twenty20 and 50-over formats and his side were well beaten in Tuesday’s first ODI against South Africa.

Where Morgan lost only two home series in one-day cricket during his seven years at the helm, Buttler is facing the prospect of losing two in a fortnight unless his side can bounce back at Old Trafford on Friday and Headingley on Sunday.

They will have to do so without the magnetic presence of star all-rounder Ben Stokes, who called time on his ODI career this week in a reaction to a punishing fixture schedule.

Buttler still has five other members of England’s 2019 World Cup-winning squad to call on, with Root, Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid all on hand, and former Test captain Root is ready to carry his share.

“I’ve been around this team for a long time now and it’s a great opportunity for guys like myself to stand up and try and fill some of those voids,” he said.

“There’s been a lot of change in a very short space of time and sometimes that can just take a little bit of getting used to. They (Morgan and Stokes) are big figures, influential players, and it creates great opportunities for guys to step right up and really take hold of a few positions within the team. Not just in terms of performance, but in filling those leadership voids as well.

“Jos is doing a great job, there’s no doubt about that. I think