Joe Root

That's the food chain that cricket is sometimes. You have to be at the top of it otherwise you get swept away and eaten up.

I was pretty much a goody-two shoes at school - a bit boring, didn't get in trouble with teachers - it was classical Yorkshire: a lot of respect to your elders. Once I started playing cricket that sort of slipped away.

I remember getting hit in the ribs when I was on about eight or nine in my first game, and everyone rushed over, quite concerned. The umpire said to me afterwards, 'If anyone had appealed I would have had to give you out LB!' I ended that innings about nine not out off about 15 overs. I was already digging in - Yorkshire style.

I want England to do well. I want us to go to World Cups and win. If I'm not in the best eleven or the best squad, so be it. I'll support whoever's involved all the way through.

I wouldn't say I give the hairdryer treatment but when we've not performed well you have to make people aware.

Sometimes people say things on the field that they might regret, but they should stay on the field.

There is nothing wrong with being gay.

The dressing-room environment is very difficult to replicate, camaraderie is very important.

My first bat was a Duncan Fearnley 405, size two. I was aged about four. I loved that bat, such great memories. I gave it to a family member and never saw it again.

I just love playing for England, whether it's opening or middle order.

The great thing about T20 is that it only takes one performance. One piece of individual brilliance can win a game and that can change the whole way you approach a tournament.

I just need to find the best version of myself. Find improvements to what I've already got, rather than trying to remodel my game.

I know how important it is that test cricket is my main focus.

I think I can be quite cheeky at times.

I'd love to go and visit Pakistan. It would be a great opportunity to go and play there personally. Unfortunately, it's not my decision to make, but it looks a wonderful country to go and play cricket in.

After a test match it's very easy to make selections, once you've seen exactly how the surface is going to play.

It's not about how many games we win with me as captain, it's about us being consistently getting better over a long period of time and looking to be that number one side in the world.

I love playing five days of cricket; personally, I think it's the best format.

We've seen guys in the sport, like Steve Smith and Virat Kohli, who have actually benefited from the captaincy.

I like to think I'll be quite instinctive as a leader.

There is no point having team meetings where no one speaks because you don't learn anything.

From a young age I've always known my game pretty well and coming from a club like Yorkshire you are generally taught to say what you think. If you don't say what you think then someone else does.

You have to enjoy winning and being part of a successful team, just being a young bloke. But at the same time you want to be back page and not front page news and be spoken about for your cricket and contributing to winning rather than getting it wrong on a night out.

I just want to represent England whether it is in the middle, at the top or wherever. If it means opener then great but I'm not too fussed about it. I just want to be in the side.

I played my first game of adult cricket at about eight or nine when the fifth team were short and picked me to field and bat at No 11. From then I just got the bug and wanted to play as often as possible.

You're always trying to find ways of getting guys in positions in which they will be comfortable.

I'm just trying to score as many runs as I can each time. The more I can make over a hundred, the better.

You try to make sure you have respect for the opposition but still play to win and play hard cricket.

There's always things you want to get better at and learn from but that's something that's quite hard to instil in players.

Every now and then you might have to change things around. It's not something that is good to do a lot - especially with your batting - but every now and then, I don't think it's a bad thing.

This game can be brutal. As soon as you get comfortable, it bites you. You have to stay on it all the time.

You learn from the bad games and the bad tours. And, when things are going well, you think about that and you make the most of it. You don't get lazy; you don't rest on your laurels.

You learn from the mistakes you make.

Coming out of the Ashes in 2013-14 and the World Cup in 2015 I realised how much I wanted to be a force in international cricket.

The important thing is to stay very strong with my natural game.

To score runs you have to be pragmatic.

I want to make contributions that help us win Test matches rather than put us in positions where we have to play extremely well to win.

All we can do as players and ambassadors of the game is try to set an example, playing in the right way and make it as entertaining as possible for people watching.

I've always wanted to play Test cricket from a young age and that's what you dream about. But you have to make sure you can contribute regardless of the format.

You don't win games by batting long periods of time.

Time has never really been an issue in Test cricket, especially in the modern game where things naturally move quicker than they have in the past.

We have to be prepared to play some attritional cricket at times.

Every game against Australia matters.

You are not going to win many games if you start behind.

It's tough to take, losing the Ashes. It's bitterly disappointing.

I have been given a fantastic opportunity to captain the Test side and will continue to work very hard at doing my best at that.

In the past, I found myself on occasions not playing the game at the speed that suits me. I need to make sure I'm in control of what is going on out there as much as I can.

Every player wants to see the game grow and flourish so it would be great to be able to help do that by achieving something very special.

I can remember that 2005 Ashes as a kid and being really absorbed in that whole series at 14 years old. It was magical.

I'm not a massive reader, to be honest. I try and fill my time with other things. But I remember getting halfway through a book once. It was 'The Client' by John Grisham, which was quite interesting.