After Joe Root surpassed Michael Vaughan’s record for most wins as England Test captain at Headingley, Cameron Ponsonby takes a look at what the numbers do, and don’t, mean.

The saying goes that “leadership isn’t a popularity contest”. And well, yeah, I get that. Or at least I understand the sentiment it’s expressing – that when in a position of power you’re going to have to make tough decisions that people aren’t going to like. And you can’t shirk that for the sake of remaining chums with your colleagues. Sure, I agree.

But what if you flip it and ask what it says of a leader who, after four-and-a-half years of making those decisions that people aren’t going to like, remains incredibly popular? That surely has to speak greatly to Root’s credit as a respected and well liked captain?

Already is the greatest….most wins as a English Test Captain..end of https://t.co/U6BfYjXhjx

— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) August 30, 2021

Stokes’ tweet anointing Root as the greatest captain of all time made me chuckle in this regard. Because I don’t believe that Stokes actually thinks that if you do something the most it automatically means you’re the best. I do, however, absolutely believe that Stokes considers Root the best captain of all time. He’s got the answer he wants but just got there in whichever way he could, a bit like when your maths teacher asked you to show your workings in front of the class and you’d think, “errrr…I’d really rather not.”

Because in Stokes’ eyes, realistically what specific moment is going to make you think more highly of Root as a captain? Ticking off a 27th Test victory? Or when he spoke so compassionately about your break from the game and said that ultimately, “I just want my friend to be okay.” The former is a statistic that makes you the ‘best’, the latter is an example of leadership that makes you great.

It’s examples like this that have seen Root become an extraordinarily popular leader. Not just through large public displays of compassion, but through the smallest gestures too. Jonathan Liew in the Guardian referred to a moment at Headingley where Root, noticing Hameed was absent from the team huddle, “opened the huddle back up, threw out his right arm and took Hameed in under it, holding him as tightly as he would a little brother. Then, and only then, did he begin speaking.”

I doubt Hameed or anyone else thought anything of it. But, had the huddle begun without him, a seed might have been planted. A moment of, “oh, they forgot about me.”

The result of someone who takes care of his teammates on a public and private front, through big actions and small, can be seen in Curran’s celebration of Root’s hundred at Trent Bridge. Root’s in the form of his life, this century was his 21st for England, but Curran celebrated his captain’s moment as if it was his first.

Special Moment. Special Innings. Special Player. 💯

Scorecard/Clips: https://t.co/5eQO5BWXUp@IGcom | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #ENGvIND 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/18PyvKGC8f

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 7, 2021

A captain’s legacy, among those who matter, is not based on numbers. But, that’s not to say the numbers are meaningless, just that they’re illustrative as opposed to definitive.

After overtaking Vaughan’s number of Test wins to make him the most successful England captain, Root told the press that he “couldn’t be more proud.” And rightly so. As a record it illustrates years of hard work. “But”, he continued, “you don’t do that on your own as a captain, it’s down to the group of players and the coaching staff as well. It’s all one big thing.”

And here is the difference between your legacy as a captain in private vs public. In private, it is wholly in your control. Your actions will directly impact the opinion of those around you and influence your day-to-day. Your public legacy, however, is results based, and “that’s down to the group of players and coaching staff as well. It’s all one big thing.”

Nobody’s perfect and Root has made his fair share of mistakes, with the recent brain fade at Lord’s that saw Bumrah and Shami take the game away for India for one. For two and three, his comments questioning Jofra Archer’s efforts were bizarre at the time and grimace-inducing now. And earlier this year, the slip-of-the-tongue when he said that Moeen Ali had “chosen” to go home was incredibly unfortunate and created a media frenzy around Ali that he didn’t deserve.

As it happens, I actually believe the latter mistake may have enhanced his reputation within the dressing room and perhaps even with Ali. Realising his mistake, he immediately sought out Ali and apologised. He’d mucked up and admitted as much. As someone fulfilling the role of first amongst equals, the humility to admit when you’ve performed below the standards of yourself and your teammates is both vital and, well, human.

Root’s public legacy will, rightly or wrongly, be secured over the next seven Test matches with the culmination of the India series and the tour of Australia. Four-and-half years work condensed into moments of split second decisions, dropped catches and poor umpiring decisions.

Luck has a far greater role in the public legacy of captains than we care to admit. Brearley, widely regarded as one of the greatest captains of all time, owes much of his public legacy to the Miracle of Headingley and therefore to Ian Botham and Bob Willis. However, had England not won that Test match, I highly doubt those around him, those that mattered to him, would have thought any less of him.

Michael Vaughan will live on forever as the captain who finally won the Ashes back after 18 painful years. But what if the full toss delivered by Harmison with four runs to win at Edgbaston had found the fence and not the fielder on the boundary? If technology existed so that Kasprowicz hadn’t been given out? Then Vaughan’s legacy would be the captain who tossed away the Ashes having only needed two wickets to win a Test match with 107 runs to spare. Would that be fair? Probably not.

I understand why we judge captains on results, for multiple reasons. If a team has a potential ceiling of 100, a good captain will keep them operating as close to that as possible through sound leadership and strong tactical decisions. But we also judge captains on results because as outsiders that’s all we have to go on. We don’t experience the moments that make someone a true leader because we’re not there. However, the people that are there, the people that matter, speak highly of Root as a captain, a player and a person. And that says more to me of Root’s legacy as a captain than any number will.