Graham Thorpe is the latest Ashes casualty, Joe Root set to remain England’s Test captain

Graham Thorpe has joined Chris Silverwood in paying the price for England’s Ashes disaster, but Joe Root will remain captain for the next tour of the West Indies, thanks to Andrew Strauss, England’s temporary director of cricket’s approval. Following the sacking of Silverwood as head coach on Thursday, Strauss – who was appointed on Wednesday to replace the outgoing director of men’s cricket, Ashley Giles – admitted that Root was “bruised” following England’s 4-0 defeat in the Ashes, the second time he has led the team to a 4-0 defeat in Australia.

“After speaking with Joe, it is evident that he is fully committed to moving this team forward. He is incredibly motivated and energetic to accomplish this. He’s bruised and disappointed by what happened in the Ashes, but he leads by example both on and off the field, so I’ll give him my entire support and make sure he has the correct framework in place to relieve pressure and ensure he can do his job effectively. There are several inquiries to be made both within and outside the organization, as well as some decisions to be made about the tour’s actual focus. You can look at it in a lot of ways: we’re in the business of winning, and it’s critical that we do so; but, it’s also about looking ahead, so we must consider that, not only in terms of the interim coach, but also in terms of our approach to selection and everything else related to it”, Strauss said.

Thorpe, on the other hand, is England’s third Ashes victim in as many days. In the aftermath of a tour marred not just by bad performance on the field, but also by claims of an off-field drinking culture and poor fitness levels, his job had become untenable.