England's 3-0 Sweep: A New Era Under Root

Joe Root walked off at Edgbaston with his bat raised, unbeaten on 62, Jordan Cox alongside him on 59*, and a 3-0 series win over Pakistan in the book. It felt less like the end of a series and more like the end of a storm.

England have had louder summers. They have had better ones. But rarely has a team looked so different in September to the one that stumbled into June.

Root’s second coming

This was the summer that began with Ben Stokes as captain, Brendon McCullum as coach and the Ashes scars still fresh. It ends with Stokes retired from Test cricket, McCullum sacked, and Root back in charge for a second spell he never expected to have.

He first took the reins again almost by accident. Stokes, backed to continue despite last winter’s Ashes defeat, was dropped for a curfew breach before the second Test against New Zealand. Root stepped in as caretaker, then watched the situation unravel. One Test later, after the New Zealand series loss, Stokes walked away from the format and McCullum was removed. The captaincy came back to Root on a full-time basis.

It could have been messy. It was. But not in the way many feared.

Root, who led England from 2017 to 2022, has returned as a calmer, more rounded figure. The noise around him has not gone away – far from it – yet his team have started to look less frantic, less impulsive, and far more grown up.

“In chaos you learn a lot about the group of players you have,” Root said. He has had plenty of chances to test that theory.

Edgbaston scare, Edgbaston statement

The third Test summed up this new England. For two days they looked in complete control, their four-man pace attack once again sharp and disciplined. Then came the wobble. Pakistan’s lower order dug in on Friday in Birmingham, exposing tired legs and frayed patience.

The old England might have panicked. This version simply absorbed the blow.

Chasing a tricky target, they lost early wickets and the tension in the ground rose. Cox, still new to this level, could easily have been swallowed by the occasion. Instead, he looked like he had been there for years, compiling an unbeaten 59 with a calm that belied his inexperience.

At the other end stood Root, the constant. His 62 not out was not his most spectacular innings, but it might be one of his most symbolic – a captain steering his side through turbulence, closing out an eight-wicket win that sealed the whitewash.

“The start of the series we wanted 3-0 and we've been clinical enough to do that,” he said. For once, England set a standard and actually met it.

A dressing room growing up

The chaos has not been confined to results. Off the field, England have been forced to confront their own standards.

A side long questioned for its professionalism has been under a harsher spotlight. The build-up to the second Test was overshadowed by an incident involving Brydon Carse outside a nightclub in Derby. It was the sort of story that, in previous years, might have been brushed aside or laughed off. This time, it landed differently.

Root has made it clear that what happens away from the middle matters as much as what happens in the middle.

“There's been a lot of chaos around this series before a ball was bowled and the way we've handled it on and off the field, the way everyone understands what is expected of them – both as a player and how we want to carry ourselves – is a really good thing,” he said.

He keeps coming back to culture. Not as a buzzword, but as a daily grind.

“We're not the finished article. We're not going to kid ourselves. That'll be a constant work in progress. The culture of this team is not something that's going to happen overnight, it's something we're going to have to live and breathe day in, day out.”

That message has started to show in selection and in performances. Dan Lawrence, brought in for Stokes, has looked like he belongs. Cox has seized his chance. Jamie Smith’s keeping has been sharp, his batting assured. The pace attack, until that testing spell against Pakistan’s tail, has looked varied and threatening.

Root likes this group. You can hear it when he talks about them.

“It's a good set of lads, really good guys that work incredibly hard and performances like this and commitment to what we're trying to achieve, both on and off the field, will be what earns trust and respect to everyone that supports us.”

Trust and respect. Two words England have not always commanded in recent years.

Talent, but tougher tests ahead

From the commentary box, Michael Vaughan watched a familiar story with a slightly different ending. Another rebuild, another new captain, another promise of change. This time, he sees something worth waiting for – but he is not buying the hype just yet.

Former captains rarely do.

He called this England team a “work in progress” and he is right. Pakistan, as he pointed out, are not the yardstick by which Root’s second era will be judged.

“We can't judge this England team against Pakistan,” Vaughan said. “Let's not get too excited but what you see is a huge amount of talent.

“You have Jordan Cox looking so calm, England's greatest [Root] at number four, Harry Brook a generational talent, Dan Lawrence has fitted in lovely and Jamie Smith, whose keeping has been brilliant and batting has looked good. The bowling attack has everything.

“But they have not won a five-Test series since 2017. That is what you get judged on.”

There it is. The challenge, laid out in blunt terms.

England have swept Pakistan 3-0, steadied a dressing room rocked by retirement, sacking and scandal, and rediscovered a captain who looks comfortable in his own skin. They have grown up a little, hardened a little, and started to sketch out what they want to be.

The next step is no secret. This team now has a culture to build, a reputation to repair – and a five-Test series to finally win.