Former England great Nasser Hussain praised Joe Root for scrapping the team curfew but warned that the new Test captain sometimes lacks the intuitive feel for the game that his predecessor Ben Stokes possessed. Hussain made his comments on the latest Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, where he discussed Root's decision to abandon the curfew ahead of the three‑Test series against Pakistan, which begins on Wednesday on Sky Sports. Root has now led England on a record 65 occasions, most recently in the second Test loss to New Zealand earlier this summer. That match came after Stokes and fast‑bowler Gus Atkinson were suspended for breaching a curfew that had been introduced following the 4‑1 Ashes defeat in the winter.
"It's just a grown‑up decision, isn’t it?" Hussain asked, highlighting the maturity he sees in Root's approach. According to Hussain, a curfew can actually undermine a captain's authority. "If you impose a curfew you’ve already lost control of the side," he said. "Someone is always going to break it, and you end up either fining them or dropping them.
A professional outfit shouldn’t need a curfew; the fact that one was ever considered shows how badly the team was managed at the time." He added, "I’m really pleased that Joe has said 'no, enough of that nonsense'." The immediate challenge for Root is to revive an England side that have lost eight of their last 13 Tests, a slump that continued after the 2‑1 series defeat to New Zealand that marked the end of the Bazball era and saw Ben Stokes retire from international cricket. Root's first permanent spell as captain also ended in a barren run – only one win in his final 17 Tests before he stepped down in 2022. Hussain recalled a recent episode that reminded him of those struggles: "He was given the biggest of hospital passes for the second Test against New Zealand at The Oval.
That was very recent, not four years ago, and it brought back some of the memories of Joe as a captain." Hussain argued that, despite being a superb batsman with a good sense of tempo, Root sometimes missed the subtle feel for the game during that Oval encounter. "He almost tried to be a bit too Ben Stokes‑ish, pushing his men forward on a bouncy pitch where the ball was staying low. He didn’t have the feel of the game in that moment," the former England opener said. "That’s what I liked about Stokes' captaincy – he had a real feel for the ebb and flow of a match." The former England captain also compared Root with the young white‑ball leader Harry Brook, noting that Brook seems to possess a natural intuition for the sport.
"I see with Harry in limited‑overs cricket that he has a real feel for the game. He has an aura about him, but I understand the scheduling pressures and the need to balance formats," Hussain said.
Brook, who serves as England's white‑ball vice‑captain, was passed over for the Test role in that second New Zealand Test at The Oval. Some commentators suggested that the board may have been reluctant to overload the 27‑year‑old with permanent Test responsibilities, especially after his off‑field incident with a nightclub bouncer last winter, which attracted heavy criticism. Michael Atherton, who recently interviewed Root, asked the captain whether his decision to drop the curfew was driven by duty or genuine desire.
"Duty, in the sense that there is really nobody else. Once they don’t want Harry Brook to do it across three formats, who else do they turn to?" Atherton recalled Root saying. "But I sense he’s genuinely excited by the opportunity. He feels he has some ammunition in terms of his faster bowlers." Root also spoke about his respect for former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, who coached England during the Bazball experiment.
"I still speak very highly of McCullum. He was a great batting coach and a good coach for the team, even though it ended badly. I’m careful not to throw everything out.
I want to keep the bits of Bazball that worked and perhaps put my own stamp on it," Root explained. "The most important thing is I won’t try to impose a predetermined style on this side." In terms of squad selection, Essex batsman Jordan Cox will take the No 3 spot for the first two Tests, replacing the injured Jacob Bethell.
Cox previously appeared at No 6 in the second Test loss to New Zealand at The Oval, scoring 27 and 25 in his two innings. He has been training with Root at Welsh Fire in The Hundred, giving him a chance to get to know the England captain on a more personal level.
"I’ve spent three‑and‑a‑half weeks with Joe in The Hundred, and we’ve gotten along really well. It’s great to pick him off in the nets, talk cricket and life – it’s been awesome," Cox said.
Cox added that while The Hundred finished its season recently, the extra time allowed him and Root to focus on preparation for the upcoming Test series: "We had a good training session yesterday, and we have tomorrow and the day after to get ready for a big Test match." The three‑Test series against Pakistan will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Cricket from August 19, and fans can also stream the matches contract‑free via NOW. As England look to reverse a worrying trend of defeats, the decision to remove the curfew may signal a shift toward treating players as mature professionals, but the real test will be whether Root can combine that freedom with the tactical acumen and game‑sense that have defined the most successful England captains of recent years.