Joe Root equaled the unwanted record after England’s crushing defeat by New Zealand

England captain Joe Root (Getty Images) Joe Root’s remarkable success with the bat continued at The Oval, but England’s crushing defeat by New Zealand also saw the former captain add another unwanted entry to his record book.After recently surpassing 14,000 Test runs and becoming the first batsman to reach 2,000 Test runs against New Zealand, Root now finds himself level with former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming for the second most wickets by a Test captain. England’s 253-run loss at The Oval was the 27th defeat of Root’s captaincy career, leaving him behind only South Africa’s Graeme Smith, who suffered 29 losses. However, the numbers are even more striking when viewed through the lens of loss percentage. Root has taken 27 wickets in just 66 Tests as captain, giving him a strike rate of 40.91 per cent. Fleming’s 27 losses came in 80 Tests with a loss percentage of 33.75 per cent, while Smith captained South Africa in 109 Tests and finished with a much lower loss rate of 26.61 per cent despite holding the record for most defeats.He lost most of the matches as Test captainRankPlayerTeamsCareer Span as CaptainTests CaptainedLostLoss %1Graeme SmithSouth Africa and ICC2003–20141092926.61%2Stephen FlemingNew Zealand1997–2006802733.75%2Joe RootEngland7–91%2B6rian LaraWest Indies1998–2006472655.32%4Allan BorderAustralia1984–1994932223.66%4Kraigg BrathwaiteWest Indies2017–2025392256.41%4Alastair CookEngland2921652. AthertonEngland1993–2001542138.89%5Jason HolderWest Indies2015–2020372156.76%6Misbah-ul-HaqPakistan2011–2017561933.93%Root stepped down as England Test captain in April 2022 after a difficult period in charge. But he returned to the role for the second Test against New Zealand after regular captain Ben Stokes was suspended by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for breaching the team’s midnight curfew and being involved in a drunken brawl at a nightclub.The ECB’s decision to hand the captaincy back to Root instead of vice-captain Harry Brook became understandable once questions about England’s selection emerged. Alongside Stokes, fast bowler Gus Atkinson, who was also involved in the nightclub incident, was unavailable, while Ollie Robinson missed the game through injury.Those absences forced England to field three debutants on a surface favored by a more experienced side, and New Zealand made the most of the opportunity.The visitors posted 391 in the first innings against England’s bowling to secure a 100-run lead. New Zealand then piled on another 361 in the second innings to set England a formidable target of 463.Any hopes of an unlikely chase quickly vanished on the morning of the fifth day. England resumed on 182/5 but lost their remaining five wickets in just 48 minutes when Matt Henry went through the lower order.Henry finished with sensational figures of 6-29 in the second innings and 11-109 in the match, his first ten-wicket haul in Test cricket and the best figures in a match by a New Zealand bowler against England. England were eventually bowled out for 209, leaving New Zealand in control by 253 runs to level the series ahead of the decider in Nottingham.Root was England’s last great hope on the final morning, but he added just two runs to his overnight score before Henry trapped him lbw for 77, effectively ending the hosts’ resistance.Although Root is now level with Fleming with 27 wickets, his loss percentage of 40.91 per cent is considerably higher than that of Fleming and Smith, highlighting why his captaincy record remains one of the most watched among modern Test leaders.