[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"header-nav":3,"footer-nav":29,"article-vaughan-backs-root-second-england-captaincy-stint":82,"category-counts-nav":97,"related-vaughan-backs-root-second-england-captaincy-stint":107},[4,8,11,14,17,20,23,26],{"label":5,"to":6,"exact":7},"Home","\u002F",true,{"label":9,"to":10},"World Cup","\u002Fworldcup",{"label":12,"to":13},"Standings","\u002Fstandings",{"label":15,"to":16},"Football","\u002Fcategory\u002Ffootball",{"label":18,"to":19},"Basketball","\u002Fcategory\u002Fbasketball",{"label":21,"to":22},"Tennis","\u002Fcategory\u002Ftennis",{"label":24,"to":25},"F1","\u002Fcategory\u002Ff1",{"label":27,"to":28},"Long Reads","\u002Fcategory\u002Flong-reads",{"brand":30,"columns":32,"tagline":80,"copyright":81},{"description":31},"In-depth sports journalism covering football, basketball, tennis, F1, and beyond. Daily analysis, long reads, and expert opinion.",[33,51,59],{"heading":34,"links":35},"Leagues",[36,39,42,45,48],{"label":37,"to":38},"Premier League","\u002Ftag\u002Fpremier-league",{"label":40,"to":41},"La Liga","\u002Ftag\u002Fla-liga",{"label":43,"to":44},"NBA","\u002Ftag\u002Fnba",{"label":46,"to":47},"Formula 1","\u002Ftag\u002Fformula-1",{"label":49,"to":50},"Champions League","\u002Ftag\u002Fchampions-league",{"heading":52,"links":53},"Content",[54,56,57],{"label":55,"to":16},"Analysis",{"label":27,"to":28},{"label":58,"to":16},"Data & Stats",{"heading":60,"links":61},"Company",[62,65,68,71,74,77],{"label":63,"to":64},"Terms of Service","\u002Fservice",{"label":66,"to":67},"Privacy Policy","\u002Fprivacy",{"label":69,"to":70},"Editorial Policy","\u002Feditorial",{"label":72,"to":73},"Contact Us","\u002Fcontact",{"label":75,"to":76},"About Us","\u002Fabout",{"label":78,"to":79},"Website Disclaimer","\u002Fdisclaimer","Built for the love of sport","© SportPulse. All rights reserved.",{"title":83,"slug":84,"category":85,"badge":86,"author":87,"excerpt":88,"date":89,"readTime":90,"image":91,"imageAlt":83,"tags":92,"body":95,"_path":96},"Vaughan Backs Root's Second Stint as England Test Captain","vaughan-backs-root-second-england-captaincy-stint","football","Opinion","Sarah Martinez","Michael Vaughan believes regaining the England Test captaincy could reset Joe Root at age 35.","2026-07-30 17:15:09","2 min read","\u002Fimages\u002Farticles\u002Fvaughan-backs-root-second-england-captaincy-stint.webp",[93,94],"Test Cricket","England","Joe Root is back for a second stint as England Test captain at **35**, and Michael Vaughan believes the timing is deliberate.\n\n> \"The England Test captaincy could be exactly what Joe Root needs.\"\n\nVaughan captained England himself and sees this return as potentially restorative for a player who has already lived one full cycle of leadership. His reading is clinical, not nostalgic: Root needs the role less as opportunity than as purpose.\n\n## 64 Tests, Then Burnout\n\nRoot's first tenure covered **64 Tests**, the most by any England captain. The runs flowed, the series were lost, and when he stepped down in 2022, the overwhelming feeling was exhaustion. He captained through his early thirties, still trying to make batting and leadership coexist. The man returning has played freely under another leader, has fewer years ahead, and carries a sharper sense of what the role demands.\n\nVaughan's argument rests on a specific premise: Root's batting did not suffer because he could not handle the captaincy. It suffered because the first stint became an endurance test rather than a cricketing project. A second, shorter window could allow him to lead without the creeping weight of an endless road.\n\n## A Different Side, A Different Brief\n\nEngland's Test setup has moved on since Root's departure. The personnel have shifted and the methods of the current coaching staff are well established. Root returns not as a reformer but as a player integrating his leadership into an existing structure. The first-time captain arrives with a manifesto. The returning captain arrives with a brief.\n\nEngland know what he is: how he leads, how he bats, how he handles the press conference circuit, how he performs under English expectation. There is no discovery phase, no bedding-in period. What they do not know is whether the second stint will be lighter. That is the bet. The weight of the role has not changed, but the man carrying it has. He is older, has less to prove, and returns with the specific hunger that comes from having stepped away and watched someone else do the job.\n\nEngland's Test programme does not allow for gentle reintroductions. Root's second stint will be measured against results from the first session of his first match back.","\u002Farticles\u002Fvaughan-backs-root-second-england-captaincy-stint",[98,99,100,101,85,102,103,104,105,106],"analysis","basketball","cricket","f1","general","golf","mma","long-reads","tennis",[108,120,132],{"id":109,"stem":109,"path":110,"title":111,"category":85,"badge":55,"badgeType":112,"author":87,"authorRole":113,"authorInitials":114,"date":115,"readTime":116,"image":117,"imageAlt":111,"tags":118,"excerpt":119},"pulisic-breaks-silence-senegal-usmnt","\u002Farticles\u002Fpulisic-breaks-silence-senegal-usmnt","Pulisic Answers His Critics With a Statement He Didn't Want to Make Verbally","category","Transfer Correspondent","SM","2026-07-02 05:17:45","6 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fi.guim.co.uk\u002Fimg\u002Fmedia\u002F4e6736536275103a59f6d95cc30cd4be88832d99\u002F666_0_6858_5486\u002Fmaster\u002F6858.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=bc49f0038a1f1716b5f7e6b014764a42","Serie A, World Cup, USMNT, AC Milan, Nations League","After six months of questions about a drought he loathed discussing, Christian Pulisic let his boots do the talking against Senegal.",{"id":121,"stem":121,"path":122,"title":123,"category":85,"badge":124,"badgeType":112,"author":125,"authorRole":126,"authorInitials":127,"date":128,"readTime":116,"image":129,"imageAlt":123,"tags":130,"excerpt":131},"antonio-rattin-obituary-1966-world-cup-red-cards","\u002Farticles\u002Fantonio-rattin-obituary-1966-world-cup-red-cards","Antonio Rattin: The Card That Changed Football","Feature","Marcus Wright","SportPulse Contributor","MW","2026-07-11 22:36:27","\u002Fimages\u002Farticles\u002Fantonio-rattin-obituary-1966-world-cup-red-cards.webp","World Cup, Argentina","Antonio Rattin's 1966 World Cup ejection infuriated a continent and forced FIFA to invent the red and yellow card system.",{"id":133,"stem":133,"path":134,"title":135,"category":85,"badge":124,"badgeType":112,"author":125,"authorRole":126,"authorInitials":127,"date":136,"readTime":137,"image":138,"imageAlt":135,"tags":139,"excerpt":140},"lammens-world-cup-setback-heaton-backing-manchester-united","\u002Farticles\u002Flammens-world-cup-setback-heaton-backing-manchester-united","Heaton Backs Lammens: World Cup Heartbreak Will Forge United Keeper","2026-07-19 15:01:02","7 min read","\u002Fimages\u002Farticles\u002Flammens-world-cup-setback-heaton-backing-manchester-united.webp","Premier League, World Cup","Tom Heaton believes Senne Lammens will return stronger from his World Cup disappointment, with Manchester United monitoring his mental response."]