(Reuters) – England’s interim head coach Paul Collingwood said he is amazed that questions are being asked about Joe Root’s captaincy of the test side and that the Yorkshireman is “desperate” to get the team back to winning ways.
England have won just one of their last 17 tests and the pressure has been mounting on Root following a 4-0 Ashes series defeat by Australia and a 1-0 loss in the West Indies.
The results prompted former captains Michael Atherton, Michael Vaughan and Nasser Hussain to suggest it should be the end of the road for Root, who has signalled his desire to continue in the role.
“Sometimes it amazes me that he gets questioned, because of how it feels within the dressing room,” Collingwood, who was in charge for the West Indies tour after Chris Silverwood stepped down, told British media.
“It’s the first time I’ve experienced him as a head coach, and worked with him. You can see the passion, the drive. There’s a real 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 games of cricket. I can’t say anything but positivity in terms of what he has done leadership wise in the dressing room, trying to move this team forward.”
Collingwood said the likes of Root and all-rounder Ben Stokes had been “superb” on their Caribbean tour but added that he understood the scrutiny the team is under.
“I can see it because we’re not winning games of cricket,” he said. “When you have that kind of record, I can understand where the noise comes from.”
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
