Joe Root has made a return as England’s Test captain and has already enjoyed a winning start to his second stint in the role. The veteran right-handed batter was reappointed skipper after Ben Stokes announced his retirement from international cricket in June 2026. Root previously stepped down as England’s Test captain in early 2022 following the team’s disappointing Ashes campaign in Australia.

Despite his difficult final phase as captain, he remains England’s most successful Test captain in terms of wins. His return to leadership was met with some questions, particularly because of the struggles that marked the latter part of his first tenure. However, Root quickly silenced some of those concerns by guiding England to a dominant victory over Pakistan at Headingley in Leeds.

England secured an innings-and-103-run win inside three days, giving Joe Root a perfect start to his second spell as captain. The Test was also potentially his final appearance at his home ground, making the victory even more significant for the experienced batter. Former Australia captain Steve Waugh has now backed Root to enjoy greater success in his second stint.

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Steve Waugh believes the England star has an opportunity to approach captaincy differently this time and encouraged him to trust his instincts when making important decisions. “It’s a great opportunity for him (Root) to captain in a different way. I think last time he was probably a bit tense and uptight about it. Here he’s got really free rein to be himself.”

Waugh believes Joe Root should avoid trying to satisfy everyone in the dressing room and instead lead according to his own judgment. And my advice to him is just go for it. Trust your gut instinct. Previously, probably he was captaining by consensus a bit, trying to keep everyone happy. This time, he just does it his way.”

The former Australian skipper also reflected on his own leadership experience. Waugh admitted that he initially tried to lead through consensus because he wanted to maintain strong relationships with his teammates.

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However, he eventually realised that successful captains must be prepared to make difficult decisions and earn the respect of their players. “You want to please everyone because you want to be everyone’s mate. Now, the best captains, obviously you want to be mates, but you’ve got to earn people’s respect.”

With Waugh’s backing and a convincing opening victory, Joe Root will hope his second chapter as England Test captain proves far more successful than his first.