What went wrong and what is next for England after Joe Root’s exit as captain?

Joe Root has resigned as England’s Test captain and in the process became the latest person to lose their job after a disastrous 12 months of red-ball cricket.

Root’s decision to stand down follows head coach Chris Silverwood, batting coach Graham Thorpe and director of cricket Ashley Giles all being dismissed in the wake of a second successive 4-0 Ashes defeat Down Under this winter.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the work required before England host World Test Championship winners New Zealand in six weeks.

The pressure had mounted on Joe Root after another embarrassing defeat to Australia and, despite positive signs on the recent tour of the Caribbean, the end result was another loss. An issue throughout the debate over whether Root should continue or not has been who could replace him. Ben Stokes, who is vice-captain, has long been mooted as a candidate but can he manage being a multi-format player, an all-rounder and Test skipper? James Anderson and Stuart Broad could also throw their names in the hats but the long-standing opening bowlers were dropped for the West Indies series. Another problem remains who will hire the next captain of England’s Test team.

Sir Andrew Strauss was parachuted in as interim managing director of England men’s cricket following Giles’ post-Ashes sacking. Some of his early calls have included dropping Anderson and Broad, backing Root to continue for the West Indies tour and making Paul Collingwood interim head coach after Silverwood also lost his role following the Ashes. Strauss’ next job, with the help of headhunters SRI Executive, is to appoint a replacement for Giles, who will then hire the next head coach of England’s Test side, but time is running out. A three-match series