Class act Root leads by example to underline his enduring importance

THE captain had gone but, thankfully, the captain was still there.

- By Andy Dunn

When Ben Stokes finally put an end to his misery in the middle with the reverse sweep that always looked certain to be his downfall, India smelt blood.

Unfortunately for them, Joe Root was unmoved, unruffled and unperturbed by the idea of Stokes' departure sparking an England collapse. A hero of Headingley had fluffed his lines, but a living legend of Headingley had remembered his.

Ben Duckett, with his brilliant 149, was the headline act in another remarkable winning production of the Bazball era but Root played a captain's innings.