Joe Root’s outstanding achievements with the bat continued at The Oval, but England’s crushing loss to New Zealand saw the former captain add another unwanted entry to his record book.After recently passing 14,000 Test runs and becoming the first batsman to score 2,000 Test runs against New Zealand, Root now finds himself tied with former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming for the second most wickets as a Test captain. England’s 253-run defeat at The Oval was the 27th defeat of Root’s captaincy career, leaving him behind only South Africa’s Graeme Smith, who suffered 29 defeats.However, the numbers become even more striking when viewed through the lens of loss percentage. Root has taken 27 wickets in just 66 Tests as captain, giving him a strike rate of 40.91 per cent. Fleming’s 27 defeats came in 80 Tests with a losing percentage of 33.75 per cent, while Smith captained South Africa in 109 Tests and finished with a much lower losing rate of 26.61 per cent despite holding the record for most defeats.He lost most of the matches as Test captain
| Rank | Players | teams | Career period as a captain | Captain’s tests | lost | % loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Graeme Smith | South Africa and the ICC | 2003-2014 | 109 | 29 | 26.61% |
| 2 | Stephen Fleming | New Zealand | 1997–2006 | 80 | 27 | 33.75% |
| 2 | Joe Root | England | 2017-2026 | 66 | 27 | 40.91% |
| 4 | Brian Lara | West Indies | 1998–2006 | 47 | 26 | 55.32% |
| 5 | Allan Borders | Australia | 1984–1994 | 93 | 22 | 23.66% |
| 5 | Craig Brathwaite | West Indies | 2017-2025 | 39 | 22 | 56.41% |
| 5 | Alastair Cook | England | 2012-2016 | 59 | 22 | 37.29% |
| 8 | Mike Atherton | England | 1993-2001 | 54 | 21 | 38.89% |
| 8 | Jason Holder | West Indies | 2015-2020 | 37 | 21 | 56.76% |
| 10 | Misbah-ul-Haq | Pakistan | 2011-2017 | 56 | 19 | 33.93% |
Root stepped down as England Test captain in April 2022 after a difficult period in charge. But he returned to the role for the second Test against New Zealand after full-time captain Ben Stokes was suspended by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for breaching the team’s midnight curfew and taking part in a drunken brawl at a nightclub.The ECB’s decision to hand the captaincy back to Root, rather than vice-captain Harry Brook, became understandable after England’s selection issues came to light. Along with Stokes, fast bowler Gus Atkinson was unavailable after also being involved in a nightclub incident, while Ollie Robinson missed the match through injury.Those absences forced England to field three debutants on a surface that favored a more experienced side, and New Zealand seized the opportunity.The visitors scored 391 in the first innings before dismissing England to secure a 100-run lead. New Zealand then piled on another 361 in the second innings to set England an impressive target of 463.All hopes of an unlikely pursuit were quickly dashed on the fifth morning. England resumed on 182/5 but lost their remaining five wickets in just 48 minutes as Matt Henry ran through the lower order.Henry finished with sensational figures of 6-29 in the second innings and 11-109 in the match, recording his first ten-wicket haul in Test cricket and the best of the match by a New Zealand bowler against England. England were eventually bowled out for 209, giving New Zealand a convincing 253-run victory and leveling the series ahead of the decider in Nottingham.Root was England’s last great hope on the final morning, but he added just two runs to his overnight tally before Henry trapped him lbw for 77, effectively ending the hosts’ resistance.Although Root is now level with Fleming on 27 defeats, his loss percentage of 40.91 per cent is significantly higher than both Fleming’s and Smith’s, underscoring why his captaincy record remains one of the most scrutinized among modern Test managers.
