Former skipper Michael Vaughan says the England Test captaincy could be "exactly what Joe Root needs" after the 35-year-old is appointed to the role for a second time.

Joe Root returns to the England captaincy having previously led them to 27 Test wins in 65 matches Former skipper Michael Vaughan has said the England Test captaincy could be "exactly what Joe Root needs". Speaking on the Test Match Special podcast, Vaughan said the 35-year-old's return to the role, having led the team from 2017 to 2022, might prove to be motivation in the later stages of his career. "I just wonder from Joe's perspective if he needed this to get that real enthusiasm to get up every morning to play Test match cricket," said Vaughan. "The amount of cricket that he's played, I just wonder whether he needed this little trigger, this little motivational tool. "He hasn't got that many of his close friends in the team any more, a lot of his team-mates have retired or moved on, so maybe this is exactly what Joe Root needs as well." Root returns to the captaincy under the charge of interim head coach Marcus Trescothick after Brendon McCullum was sacked, before New Zealander Stephen Fleming takes over the Test leadership for this winter's tour of South Africa. He stepped down as captain in 2022 after a 10-wicket loss to West Indies, their ninth match without a win, citing the "toll" and "impact" the role had on him.