Joe Root not thinking of England Test captaincy
Wednesday 9 December 2015 10:09, UK
Joe Root insists he is not thinking about the possibility of succeeding Alastair Cook as England's Test skipper.
Root is currently vice-captain to Cook in the five-day format and has been tipped to succeed the left-hander once he steps down from the role.
But the 24-year-old, whose 2015 form has seen him rise to joint first with Australian Steve Smith in the Test batting rankings, is focused solely on the upcoming four-Test series against South Africa.
"It's not something I'm thinking about to be honest," he told Sky Sports News HQ. "I'm happy with what I'm doing at the moment.
"Further down the line who knows what's going to happen, but for me it's about concentrating on this tour, trying to get as many runs as possible and assisting Cooky whenever available."
Root believes Cook remains the standard-bearer for England batsmen and has backed him to lead England to a successful series against the Proteas.
"He sets the benchmark for everyone to follow and to see him scoring the runs he has this year has been phenomenal," added Root.
"He's the leading Test run-scorer in the world in 2015 and now England's leading Test run-scorer of all time so you don't get there without serious scores. Hopefully he can kick on and have a really successful tour of South Africa.
"We know how strong they are and we won't take them lightly, but we're an exciting side ourselves. We've played some really strong cricket throughout the year and hopefully we can that into the series.
"There's a reason why they're No 1 in the world, because they take 20 wickets a lot and they win Test matches. Of course we're going to have to bat well as a side, but I'm also looking forward to seeing our attack bowl in those conditions as well. It should be a really entertaining spectacle."
