England captain Root needs to fall on his sword like Botham did in 1981 Ashes

England's defeat by Australia in the first Test of this summer's Ashes series was an embarrassment on home soil of a scale that the country has not faced since the 1990s.

In fact it has shades in it of the first Test defeat in the 1981 series, which was eventually to finish in a remarkable 3-1 turnaround victory for England.

'England do this time and time again. They choose their best player as captain rather than go for the best captain. Then when their best player has a dip in form the captaincy becomes a burden which weighs on the team.'

Back in that first 1981 test England were captained by Ian Botham. England's form under Botham had not been great and England went into the 1981 Ashes series on the back of a 2-0 defeat in their 1981 winter series in the West Indies.

Before becoming captain the previous summer Botham had emerged as England's best player, an allrounder with genuine match-winning talent. His 12 tests were a disaster though, with England drawing eight matches and losing four. Of course in the West Indies, they were facing one of the strongest cricket teams of the post-war era.

But after the opening defeat at Trent Bridge things went from bad to worse with the England captain being dismissed for a pair at Lord's. Shortly after the game Botham resigned the captaincy to avoid being fired. Of course every cricket fan knows what happened next as under the captaincy of Mike Brearley, Botham rediscovered his form and was the dominant player as England won the next three tests.

One wonders now about the fate of the current England captain Joe Root. Before he became captain in 2017, he was easily England's best batsman. Since then, as happened with Botham, his form has significantly deteriorated.

At Edgbaston, Root looked demoralised. His batting return (57 and 28) was moderate and in the field he seemed shorn of ideas. His hesitation in taking the new ball in Australia's second innings was typical of the indecision that allowed Australia to come back from a losing position to one where the Baggy Greens won the match by 251 runs.

One suspects Root will get another opportunity as captain but if England lose again and he fails to show any form with the bat then that could be his lot. England do this time and time again. They choose their best player as captain rather than go for the best captain. Then when their best player has a dip in form the captaincy becomes a burden which weighs on the team.

Root is a great batsman but he is not a leader of men. In his time in charge he has been lucky because, apart from India, England have faced relatively weak opposition at home. In their one away series of note, England were destroyed 4-1 by the Aussies. They even managed to lose their last away Test series, 2-1, to the West Indies, who are nothing like the proposition they were in the 1990s.

Root could of course point to his misfortune at Edgbaston in losing his key bowler, Jimmy Anderson, to injury. However he must bear some responsibility for the decision to play him when it was not proven that Anderson was match fit.

The defeat has destroyed much of the feelgood factor England had in their favour going into the match off the back of their stunning ODI World Cup victory. A comparison between Root's contribution to the match for England with his opposite number Steve Smith, who was twice out in the 140s, does not do Root any favours either.

In 1981 England brought Brearley out of international retirement to take the helm for the third test at Headingley. Ironically it was a rejuvenated Botham who took the man of the match award with one of those magical performances that have made him a national legend. If Root fails in the next test, either as a captain or a batsman, it might be time for him to step down. With victory in the Ashes still a slim possibility, he may decide to fall on his sword himself and let another man have a go.

Root is much too good a batsman to be dropped from the team altogether and what he may be able to offer the team as a batsman unfettered by leadership worries could be just the spark England need. I'm not sure Root's predecessor Alastair Cook is a good enough captain to warrant bringing him back into the international fold – it's unlikely he could be persuaded anyway – so the job might fall to someone like Joss Buttler or David Bairstow. Ben Stokes is a possibility, but I feel he is such a Botham-esque character that it would risk having a negative effect on his form.

The other candidate is, of course, Eoin Morgan who led England so magnificently to that ODI World Cup victory. Morgan has been tried by England as a Test batsman before and found wanting. However, Brearley was hardly in England's team in 1981 for his batting, it was more what he brought to the team with his captaincy that assured his place. It's possible the distraction of the captaincy might actually bring out the best in Morgan as a batsman too.

Although Rory Burns has emerged as a genuine candidate for one of the opening berths, other England batting spots are still up for grabs. Roy, for all his talent, doesn't seem to have the patience that is needed at this level of the game. Denly, too, showed little to give the selectors confidence. I would bring back Dawid Malan, who at least has shown he can score a century against the Aussies in the 2017 series. Bairstow could be promoted again to open, with Root coming in at three, Malan at four and Morgan at five.

With Root relieved of the captaincy who's to say that he couldn't score a double century at Headingley, his home ground, and ignite the fightback his country so desperately needs? There's no doubt about it that Australia have their tails up after the Edgbaston result. Their former pace bowler-turned-broadcaster Glenn McGrath is already predicting his country can win the series 5-0. Imagine that, an Australian whitewash of England in a home Test series?

While Broad still looks like a capable bowler, it's questionable if there is room for both him and Anderson, England's two old warhorses, in the same team. Jofra Archer has the kind of pace that could ask Smith questions the other England bowlers can't. Woakes, based on his Edgbaston performance, probably deserves another go, while Mark Wood is waiting in the wings if any of these options falter.

As for the spin bowling department, is Moeen Ali really deserving of another chance? Jack Leach seems to be the favourite to replace him, although Adil Rashid one of England's ODI heroes must also be deemed worthy of a chance.

England team for Headingley (assuming they fail to win at Lords): Bairstow, Burns, Root, Malan, Morgan (captain), Buttler (wicketkeeper), Stokes, Woakes, Broad, Leach, Archer.