Joe Root Leads England to 3-0 Victory Over Pakistan

Joe Root walked off at Edgbaston with his bat raised and his shirt spattered in the sweat of a long, complicated summer. The scoreboard said 62 not out. The series board said 3-0. The mood, finally, said England are back facing the right way.

Alongside him, Jordan Cox – 59 not out, nerveless, unflustered – shared the moment. Together they steered England to an eight-wicket win over Pakistan in the third Test, closing out a clean sweep that felt far tidier than the chaos that framed it.

This has been a summer that lurched from one shock to the next. Ben Stokes’ sudden retirement from Test cricket. Brendon McCullum’s sacking. A captaincy handover mid-series. Off-field flashpoints that dragged headlines away from the pitch. Yet by the time Root drove the winning runs in Birmingham, England looked like a side that had used the turmoil rather than been swallowed by it.

“In chaos you learn a lot about the group of players you have,” Root said afterwards. He sounded like a man who has lived it.

Root’s second act

Root’s return to the captaincy was never part of some long-term plan. He was ushered back in for the second Test against New Zealand in June, after Stokes – still backed at that point to lead alongside McCullum despite last winter’s Ashes defeat – broke a team curfew and was left out.

One Test later, Stokes was gone altogether, his retirement announcement ripping through the dressing room. McCullum followed, sacked after the series defeat by New Zealand. Root, who had captained from 2017 to 2022 before stepping aside, suddenly found the armband back on his arm full-time.

It could easily have unravelled. Instead, the 33-year-old has slipped into the role with the same quiet authority that defines his batting. No grandstanding. No drama. Just a steady, calming presence at the centre of a squad that had been accused of lacking professionalism and focus.

“There’s been a lot of chaos around this series before a ball was bowled,” Root said. “The way we’ve handled it on and off the field, the way everyone understands what is expected of them – both as a player and how we want to carry ourselves – is a really good thing.

“The start of the series we wanted 3-0 and we’ve been clinical enough to do that.”

Clinical on the scoreboard, yes. But the route there was anything but smooth.

A team growing up

England’s dressing room has changed shape quickly. With Stokes gone, Dan Lawrence stepped in and did not look overawed. Cox, thrust into a bigger role, has looked as if he belongs at this level from the first time he marked his guard.

The four-man pace attack, too, has mostly hit its marks. For long stretches it looked varied, hostile and disciplined, only fraying when Pakistan’s lower order swung freely on Friday in Birmingham and briefly rattled English nerves.

Off the field, the picture has been less tidy. The build-up to the second Test was overshadowed by an incident involving Brydon Carse outside a nightclub in Derby, another unwanted storyline at a time when the team could least afford distractions.

Root has chosen to meet all of it head-on, talking more about culture than cover drives.

“We’re not the finished article,” he told BBC Test Match Special. “We’re not going to kid ourselves. That’ll be a constant work [in progress].

“The culture of this team is not something that’s going to happen overnight, it’s something we’re going to have to live and breathe day in, day out.

“But there’s no reason we can’t.

“It’s a good set of lads, really good guys that work incredibly hard and performances like this and commitment to what we’re trying to achieve, both on and off the field, will be what earns trust and respect to everyone that supports us.”

Those words matter. England have spent years talking about “reset buttons” and “new eras”. This feels less like a rebrand and more like a slow, necessary maturing.

Talent everywhere, questions still

From the commentary box, Michael Vaughan watched his successor marshal this new-look side and liked plenty of what he saw. He also reached for a note of caution.

“We can’t judge this England team against Pakistan,” the former captain said. “Let’s not get too excited but what you see is a huge amount of talent.

“You have Jordan Cox looking so calm, England’s greatest [Root] at number four, Harry Brook a generational talent, Dan Lawrence has fitted in lovely and Jamie Smith, whose keeping has been brilliant and batting has looked good.

“The bowling attack has everything.

“But they have not won a five-Test series since 2017. That is what you get judged on.”

That is the crux of it. On days like this, with Root gliding through the gears and Cox playing like a veteran rather than a newcomer, England look rich in options. Brook’s flair, Lawrence’s composure, Smith’s assurance behind the stumps, a pace unit with variety and bite – it all hints at a squad with depth to burn.

Yet the calendar, and history, are less forgiving. England’s last victory in a five-Test series came nine years ago. For all the talk of culture, for all the promise of fresh faces and renewed standards, the real examination waits in the longer, heavier series that define eras and legacies.

For now, though, Root has what he wanted at the start of this turbulent stretch: 3-0, order restored on the field, a dressing room that looks more aligned than at any point in recent memory.

The chaos has not vanished. It never does in international cricket. But England walk out of this summer with their captain settled, their direction clearer, and their next big question already looming: can this “work in progress” finally turn talent and talk into a five-Test statement?