Joe Root will go on the attack when he’s handed England reins

Joe Root is keen to press ahead with the attacking style of cricket favoured by England coach Trevor Bayliss if he succeeds Alastair Cook as Test captain.

Root’s appointment is expected to be confirmed before the limited-overs tour of West Indies later this month, though the 26-year-old will have to wait until July, when England face South Africa at Lord’s in the opening Test of the summer, to take the reins.

Though Root has little competitive captaincy experience — and was given the nickname ‘Craptain’ by Yorkshire team-mates after a surprise defeat by Middlesex at Lord’s in 2014 — he has strong ideas about the game.

The expectation among senior England players is that Root will encourage his players to take the attacking option. England suffered eight Test defeats in 2016, at times appearing to have little idea of how to bat defensively and secure a draw.

Standard Sport understands there would be no change of mindset under Root. During the 4-0 series defeat in India, there appeared to be a slight conflict between Cook and Bayliss, with the former encouraging a cautious approach while Bayliss asked for more adventure. Similar differences of opinion between Bayliss and Root are highly unlikely.

Though Root was not necessarily identified as captaincy material earlier in life, “it was never enough for him just to be a batsman,” Martyn Moxon, the former Yorkshire captain who is now director of cricket at Headingley, told Standard Sport.

“He has always been someone who talked to bowlers about how we could win matches. He did that from a very early age and it has continued.

“He is a natural leader. He has the ability to show authority without being too autocratic. He has a nice way about him: he can be one of the lads, but he is also able to maintain that authority with it. He has a good tactical brain and now he has proved himself many times as a player in Test cricket, I am sure captaincy would enhance his performance.

“I am sure he has a pretty good relationship with the senior players in the England team and the key is to include them in the decision-making process, without losing your authority. We talk a lot about man-management and Joe is very good at connecting with people.

“I don’t worry about his ability to take on all of these responsibilities. It’s up to England to manage his work-load, which they’ve started doing.”

Moxon’s description of Root as a “people” person is backed up by the England camp. In India, it was noticeable how quick Root was to spot which players were having a tough time and to try to lift their mood.

An ECB source said: “When he speaks, people stand back and listen. He is very good at understanding the players and is quick to work out what is going on with everyone.

“For example, if he thinks another player is struggling, he’ll go out of his way to make a fuss of him.

“That won’t necessarily be talking about cricket, but he will try to make people feel good about themselves.

“He has a natural empathy with people and that is something you cannot teach. It might be something that gives him a bit more margin for error when times are tough.”

Andrew Strauss, the England managing director and former captain, has no doubt Root can handle the role. “No one is ever prepared for it until you do it but people can grow when they are given that responsibility,” he said.

Those who know Root well are confident he will do precisely that.