When Joe Root missed the first Test against West Indies at Southampton nearly three years ago to be at the birth of his second child he left his deputy Ben Stokes a note, saying simply ‘do it your way.’ Little did he know Stokes ‘way’ would transform English cricket.
Not that it was to be an immediate success. England lost that Test, staged behind closed doors because of Covid, by four wickets after leaving a certain Stuart Broad out of the side and Root hurried back after welcoming daughter Isabella.