At the age of 33, with 144 Test matches under his belt, Root is now a senior member of the English party.
Joe Root may have been dubbed ‘Grandpa’ by Harry Brook but he insists England’s vibrant young Test team makes him feel like Peter Pan.
Root was once the team’s cocky young rebel, but after 144 appearances over 12 years, he is now a team elder statesman.
At 33, he is still younger than Chris Woakes and Mark Wood, both of whom featured in the five-wicket win over Sri Lanka at Emirates Old Trafford, but since James Anderson retired this summer, no one has as much international experience as Root.
He showed all his wit to manage a tricky chase in the first Test at Manchester, scoring an unbeaten 62 in the chase of 205 on a firm surface.
Joining him in the winner’s hurdle are relative newcomers Shoaib Bashir, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Smith and Matthew Potts, a quartet with a combined 22 appearances. When the squad reassembles at Lord’s on Tuesday, 20-year-old unknown Josh Hull will replace the injured Wood.
“They don’t get any younger, do they?” Root said after England secured their fourth successive win over the summer.
“Those people, more than anything, keep you young. In this job, you can be like Peter Pan, and you don’t really have to grow up. You just think you’re the same age as the people you’re batting with or the people around you.
“I think the best thing about it is that we get along well, even if we tease each other.
“Brooky called me ‘Grandpa’ a while ago… and at 33, that’s a pretty good age to be a grandpa! It was so funny, he chased me around the field like we were playing a village game and said, ‘Don’t get caught.’ That’s what you want. It’s fun and hilarious.
“It was nice to be able to forget that something was at stake and just enjoy it, and we were able to do that, and it was a really good spot.
“I still think I’m quite young and I think I have a lot of cricket ability left in me.”
Brook, 25, has taken on a new role as vice-captain to interim captain Ollie Pope in Manchester, as well as taunting his Yorkshire team-mates.
Root has managed England 64 times between 2017 and 2022 – more than anyone else in the same role – and with Ben Stokes out on the injured list, it’s great to see someone else take over.
“I think they did a really good job. It’s really nice to see young players step up and take on that responsibility and do a really good job,” he said.
“I do everything I can and sometimes you guys help me out, but it’s everyone’s team and they are the future. They are very smart lads, they know the game really well, they are always gaining a lot of experience and they are leading the team in a really good direction.”
England will continue to look to showcase new talent as they announce their white-ball squad for next month’s match against Australia.
There could be more changes ahead after limited-overs coach Matthew Moat was sacked, with Jonny Bairstow and Moin Alli waiting to see if they have a future.
Bairstow, a key member of the 2019 World Cup-winning side, was left out of the Test squad earlier in the summer, with director of cricket Rob Key saying his form had declined across all formats. If he misses out this time, the 34-year-old could have played for England for the last time.
Moeen has been Jos Buttler’s vice-captain in recent years but admits his international career is coming to an end at the age of 37. Warwickshire’s Barbadian all-rounder Jacob Bethell is set to receive his first call-up and could also take his place as the second spin option.
