Root praises English dressing room’s 'excellent' response to chaotic summer

England have managed to close out what was largely a turbulent summer with a commanding 3-0 whitewash of Pakistan on September 12. The turbulence stemmed from a nightclub incident after the Lord's Test of the three-match series against New Zealand, involving Ben Stokes, Gus Atkinson and Saracens rugby player Totoa Auvaa.

Stokes and Atkinson were stood down from the second Test while the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Cricket Regulator launched an investigation. Both players were later cleared and returned for the third Test with the series level at 1-1. Just as stability appeared to return, Stokes shocked the cricketing world by announcing his retirement in the middle of the decider.

Stokes' departure led to the removal of Brendon McCullum as England’s Test coach and brought an end to the Bazball era. The ECB reinstated Joe Root as Test captain and appointed Stephen Fleming as the new head coach.

Although Fleming did not oversee the series against Pakistan, Root and interim head coach Marcus Trescothick delivered the desired outcome by dismantling the visitors. England secured their ninth Test whitewash over Pakistan since 2001, and Root believes the dressing room responded in exemplary fashion. Notably, England also had to deal with the news of Brydon Carse's arrest after he was found drunk and disorderly at a bar in Durham amid the Pakistan series.

"There has been a lot of chaos around this series before a ball was bowled," Root said at the press conference after the 3-0 result. "I think the way we have handled it on and off the field, and the way everyone understands what is expected of them as players and how we want to carry ourselves, is a really good thing. At the start of the series we wanted 3-0 and we have been clinical enough to achieve that.

"It has been a very unusual summer. That is probably the best way to describe it. There have been many different things happening. We had a resignation mid series, there were off-field incidents and we have a new coach.

"Whether you call it chaos, unusual or unsettling, all are fair. But the thing that matters most is how we respond. I think the way we have done that has been excellent. There is now clarity in what is expected of the group moving forward and we build on that from here."