England's opening woes: Alastair Cook's opening partners since 2012

2. Joe Root

Joe Root averaged 41.70 as an opener in 11 innings

The 2013 home Ashes for England saw the experiment of Joe Root as an opener. In 5 Tests, Root scored 339 runs at an average of 37.66 with a marathon 180 being his highest at the Lords. However, Cook and Root could just manage a highest partnership of 68 in the 10 innings and the management realized that Root was much better off as a middle-order batsman rather than an opener.

In 11 innings as an opener, the current England Test captain averaged 41.70 which is lower than his career average of 52.28. Root currently bats at No.3 in Test cricket and has established himself as one of the best players in the world.