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'Someone else': England great's shock captaincy call

A former England star has made the shock call that the Poms should never have given Joe Root the captaincy.

Root caused controversy on Thursday when he was seen angrily protesting a controversial DRS call on the team balcony, before hitting the dressing room door with his fist.

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting slammed Root over the “horrible look for the game”.

“The thing about the decision being made when it was as well, it’s actually made Joe Root and a lot of the England guys look silly,” said Ponting.

Root (L) is under fire. Image: Getty
Root (L) is under fire. Image: Getty

“They’re out on the balcony complaining about the decision … but as it’s turned out, it was the right call.

"It’s a horrible look for the game.”

And former England spinner Graeme Swann has also criticised Root's leadership, suggesting someone else should have been made captain before the Ashes.

“I’ve said that all along. When you’ve got someone who is potentially the best player in the world, you should allow him to become the best player in the world,” Swann told Fox Sports News on Friday.

“I don’t think it makes England a better team by him being the captain.

“I personally would’ve given it to someone like Stuart Broad.

“Obviously you can’t change it during an Ashes. He’s got a very tricky job at the minute. He’s got extra pressure he doesn’t need.”

Swann. Image: Getty
Swann. Image: Getty

Swann also said the fact that Root has failed to convert a lot of his fifties into hundreds shows the captaincy is affecting his batting.

“It’s something Joe Root needs to look into as well because he’s just not converting his 50s into hundreds,” Swann added.

“Maybe, in my view, because he’s got the weight of captaincy on his shoulders … captaining a crazy bunch of mavericks off the field.

"He needs to get rid of that burden in my opinion. If you don’t go on and score your big hundreds, you don’t win Test matches.

"Australia have had two big hundreds in their first two games, that’s where they’ve won the games.”

Root has two half-centuries so far in the series but hasn't managed to reach triple figures.