‘You’re only as good as your players’: Darren Gough defends Joe Root’s record

Darren Gough has defended Joe Root’s leadership after he stepped down after five years as England’s Test captain, insisting there was no one better who could have taken on the role.

Root announced his resignation on Friday morning, having come under increasing pressure after a 1-0 series defeat in West Indies followed England’s winter Ashes drubbing. However, Gough, interim managing director of cricket at Yorkshire where Root plays, said: “I think he’s done a good job. I really do. He leads from the front. He’s a strong personality. Everybody thinks he’s this relaxed, fun-loving guy, which he is. But he’s also a strong leader.

“You’re only as good as your players. You can be as good a captain as you want. Yes, you might be able to make a little 1% change, but you need the team. Individual players have to come to the party when you really want them. When your best players rock up, it makes such a difference.

“I’ve been in that dressing room environment in New Zealand [in November 2019]. He is hugely respected by every single player and coaching staff. And he was the perfect man for the job.”

Root led England in a record 64 Tests, winning 27 of them. The team’s recent precipitous loss of form, however, chipped away at his authority. “That one win in 17 [games] is the one that goes against him,” continued Gough, during Yorkshire’s Championship game against Gloucestershire at Bristol. “When you think about it, would you say he’s always had the best players available to him in that last 17 Test matches? I would say not.

“He’s had a lot of criticism. I think that’s what probably hurt him, it’s come from a lot of guys who played the game and captained England as well – some of his closest mates.

“I was surprised by the