It was stupid. Geoffrey Boycott breaks Joe Root’s captaincy in second Test, thanks ‘heavens’ for Ben Stokes’ return | Cricket News:

Former England batsman Geoffrey Boycott has criticized Joe Root’s leadership during England’s loss to New Zealand in the second Test at The Oval, saying the stand-in captain seemed to have learned nothing from his previous spell in charge. Boycott also welcomed the return of Ben Stokes for the third Test, saying England needed him to take charge.Stokes missed the second Test while an investigation was conducted into the alleged involvement of Gus Atkinson in a nightclub fight with a rugby player after England’s victory in the first Test. Root was given the captaincy ahead of vice-captain Harry Brook. England fielded three debutants in the match and suffered a 253-run defeat, which became Root’s 27th loss as Test captain.The England and Wales Cricket Board later confirmed that Stokes would return for the third Test. The board said Stokes and Atkinson received written warnings after being found guilty of breaching contractual obligations.Writing for The Telegraph, Boycott said. “Thank heavens Ben Stokes will be back to lead England at Trent Bridge because it looks like Joe Root learned nothing from his last stint as England captain.”He also praised Root’s bravery while questioning his captaincy.“Now that Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson have retired from Test match cricket, Root is the undisputed best batsman in the world. What a wonderful thing to say about a smashing kid that everyone loves, including me.Boycott pointed to Root’s management of Jofra Archer, saying it reminded him of England’s 2019 tour of New Zealand, when Archer was asked to play long spells and spend long periods bowling short deliveries.“Captainship is a gift and a good leader has a natural idea about who to field and what field to set for different batsmen,” Boycott wrote. “You can’t read it in a book but you can learn from watching opposition captains from around the world. Sometimes it’s intuition or luck and sometimes if you get someone who is lucky and good then you get an incredibly successful leader.The boycott was particularly critical of Archer’s work late on opening day.“It was absurd that Joe asked him to play an eight-over spell at the end of the first day at the Oval with so many short balls aimed at New Zealand batsman Glenn Phillips and the tail-enders,” wrote Boycott.