A little under two weeks ago, Alastair Cook made the less than surprising announcement of his decision to quit as England’s Test captain. Just a few days later, an even less surprising decision was made to appoint 26-year-old Joe Root as his successor.

So what sort of cricketing state has Cook left the national team in? And does Joe Root have what it takes to be successful in one of the most high-profile roles in international sport? The short answer to these questions is ‘we’ll see’. The long answer, if there is one, is far more revealing.

Cook, 32, leaves his four-year tenure with a plethora of records broken. He led his country onto the field 59 times in Test matches, and is now England’s most capped player and highest-scoring Test batsman with over 10,000 runs – the youngest ever to reach such a milestone.

The personal achievements are almost endless, and make for wonderful reading. He has reached triple digits more times than any other Englishman, a centurion no fewer than 30 times, including a high score of 294 against India in 2011 that took England to the top of the world rankings. His 836-minute double century in Abu Dhabi just over a year ago is the longest ever innings by an Englishman, a record that doesn’t look like being beaten any time soon.

“Root comes across as a quiet, shy character, but his leadership qualities aren’t in doubt”

What makes these stats even more remarkable is the almost unique style with which Cook approaches the game in the modern day. His batting belongs in the Test era of decades ago, when concentration, technique and grit reigned supreme over the power, ferocity and tenacity with which modern-day batsman tackle bowlers. He has near unparalleled levels of attentiveness, with each delivery given the utmost respect: never a twitchy finger, never a rush of blood, never throwing his wicket away. The ability to ‘grind’ the bowlers down, psychologically more than anything, is a quality an opening batsman can never underestimate, and is the foundation upon which Cook’s decorated career has been built.

And so, as an opening batsman, Alastair Cook leaves very little to be desired.

But what about as a captain?

While his batting figures look nothing short of brilliant, the success of his team has been a lot more mixed. Cook’s win rate finishes at 40.67 per cent: far from terrible, but nothing to write home about; Andrew Strauss, Peter May, and Michael Vaughan each have better records.

Successive home Ashes victories will always be remembered as highlights of his reign. The 2013 triumph included one of the finest Test matches ever played, a near-unbelievable 14-run win at Trent Bridge that will undoubtedly go down in history.

But with the highs came some serious lows. The famous Ashes urn which Cook had fought so hard to win swiftly returned Down Under after a humiliating 5-0 whitewash which embarrassed not just Cook, but the whole nation. Never in recent memory had such a series been so one-sided.

In true Cook style, though, he persevered, and his team, buoyed by such young talents as Joe Root and Ben Stokes, were beginning to excite once again.

There have always been questions over Cook’s tactics. His stubbornness, so often praised with bat in hand, brought him serious criticism when things went awry. Certainly one for caution, Cook will not be regarded as a ground-breaker by any stretch, a far-cry from the revolutionary figures of Brendon McCullum or Ricky Ponting. In a sense, the very qualities that make Cook such a world-class opener came to his detriment with the skipper’s cap on.

And so, after a meek winter showing in India, perhaps Cook was right to call it quits; the modern day intensity of Test cricket was always going to take its toll. So, with a fresh face and a fresh start in 2017, we should have no doubt in giving Cook his deserved legacy as one of the finest batsman the sport has ever seen.

And so, to the future. With the spot vacant, Joe Root’s promotion from vice-captain was nothing more than a formality. It certainly seems the logical decision.

Root has only taken charge of four first-class matches in his brief international career, so it is true that experience on the biggest stage is somewhat lacking. But Root’s exceptional national performances so far seem to negate this. Ever since he burst onto the seen in 2012, he has appeared almost untouchable.  An average of 52.80, 11 centuries to date, he quickly became England’s most prized asset and the key man that opposition fight so hard to remove. 

"The most exciting player the sport has ever seen"

Root’s style couldn’t contrast much more with that of his predecessor. He epitomises the modern-day batsman: athletic, agile, aggressive, powerful, audacious – the range of strokes Root has in his armoury is countless. One of the world’s most exciting athletes, he possesses a punishing, relentless ability to rack up runs in almost any scenario. An England line-up without the name of Joe Root suddenly looks orders of magnitude less daunting.

It remains to be seen how his game will be affected by the mantle of being skipper. Some in the past have been overwrought, losing all confidence, when others have excelled and pushed to the next level. I’d wager that, given enough time, Root has the tenacity to reach new heights with the nation behind him.

Root comes across as a quiet, shy character, but his leadership qualities aren’t in doubt. He won’t be afraid of making bold decisions or experimenting with new tactics – that’s just in his nature.

So, with one England legend apparently making way for another, everyone is rooting for Joe to bring greater success to the national side. Touch wood, but I would say things are looking up with the new face of English cricket at the helm.