Paul Collingwood ‘amazed’ by questioning of Joe Root’s captaincy

Paul Collingwood has been around long enough to know international cricket is a results game but is equally amazed that Joe Root’s position as England captain is being questioned given his impact in the dressing room.

The tour of the Caribbean was intended to be a fresh start for the Test team after the Ashes debacle but a galling 1-0 defeat to West Indies – sealed by a 10-wicket blowout in Grenada – means England have failed to win their past five series and led to widespread calls for Root to step down.

Collingwood understands this reaction on one level and accepts that the Test team, sitting in last position in the World Test Championship, has possibly “bottomed out” during a winless winter. But, as the interim head coach for the month-long trip, he believes Root’s input behind the scenes is not being taken into account and will begin to bear fruit if patience is shown.

“Sometimes it amazes me that he gets questioned, because of how it feels within the dressing room,” Collingwood said. “It’s the first time I’ve experienced him as a head coach and you can see the passion, the drive. There’s a hunger to get it right. These aren’t just words coming out of his mouth.

“He’s desperate to get the team back to winning. I can’t say anything but positivity in terms of what he’s done leadership-wise. You have to understand how it feels in the dressing room and how strong a leader he is. He has the full backing from all the players and the management as well. It feels like he is still very much our No 1 to take this team forward.”

Root’s apparent determination to plough on means the new managing director of the men’s team – likely to be appointed towards the end of April, with Marcus North, Rob Key and Mark Nicholas in the