*Joe Root stepped down as England test captain on Friday, saying the jobhad taken a heavy toll on him recently, after dispiriting tours ofAustralia and the Caribbean capped a string of poor results that promptedcalls for him to stand down.*
England have won just one of their previous 17 tests and the pressure hadbeen mounting on Root even before their 1-0 series defeat by the WestIndies last month, which came on the heels of a 4-0 Ashes series thrashingby Australia.
Ex-England captains Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain were among thosewho had said it was time for Root to step down.
