THE GOOGLY: Is this a happy birthday for Joe Root?

HUW TURBERVILL: One of England's greatest talents turns 29 today, but the manner of his beleaguered side's defeat in Centurion is just the latest cause for concern

• More from Huw Turbervill
• Opinion from The Cricketer

Joe Root has had more contented birthdays, one imagines: waking in a South African hotel room now suddenly aged 29, the England captain has plenty to ponder.

Twenty-nine is a prime number, and that's apt – because he should be in his batting prime now. Does he need the captaincy anymore? Is it damaging his batting? Does he deserve it any longer?

England have indulged in their customary habit of losing the opening Test of an overseas series, but the 107-run reverse at Centurion seems to have hit everyone – players, pundits and fans – harder than most.

Some would say it's perhaps a little harsh, as England had excuses this time. Their dressing room has come to resemble a field hospital in M*A*S*H, with Dom Sibley the latest to be felled by the (Jonathan) Trotts.

It was the manner of defeat, and Root's decision making, that is coming under particular scrutiny however.

There was the flawed decision to bowl first (note New Zealand's Kane Williamson made a similarly strange call giving Australia first use at the SCG); the inability to plot the length and direction of England's bowlers (coach Chris Silverwood is coming under close scrutiny for this too); the funky fields where none were especially needed on a receptive surface; the bowling changes (Ben Stokes' first over of the match was the last of day two – it was, unsurprisingly, rusty and ineffectual – a waste); pounding Jofra Archer into the ground with long spells, as Graham Gooch used to do to David Lawrence at times; favouring all-seam attacks and neglecting spin (for further reading, refer to Gooch and Alec Stewart's captaincy stints); and so on...

It prompted Steve Harmison to become the new Freddie Trueman on talkSPORT2: "I can't believe what I'm seeing out there..."

^{Joe Root's sickly England side fell to a 107-run defeat inside four days in Centurion}

South Africa were meant to be there for the taking. Their form has been wretched (thrashed in India, losing at home to Sri Lanka) and their administration in disarray... although Graeme Smith's installation as director of cricket, with Mark Boucher as coach, has given them an understandable lift.

England's struggle to find Test openers and spinners cannot be blamed on Root either, it has to be said...

But he has a decision to make, that's for sure – and if the dismal results continue, that might even be taken out of his hands by Silverwood, or Ashley Giles.

The coach has indicated that Root's role is safe until the 2021/22 Ashes. That pronouncement seems premature now, and lacks credibility, and if England lose this series badly, might Stokes, Jos Buttler or Broad step up for the short tour to Sri Lanka, even before next summer's visit of Pakistan, the opening Test series of next summer?

My choice would be the intelligent and thoughtful Broad, tempered slightly by his stubbornness about which lengths to bowl, a debate that has been raging for several years now...

While of course it would be a blow to Root's ego, it is likely to help his batting. Averaging 42 as opposed to 52 when not captain, it clearly hasn't given him a boost in the same way it helped Gooch (58 compared to 35), Mike Gatting (44 to 32) or even Sir Alastair Cook (46 to 42). It didn't help Michael Vaughan (36 to 50) either, although his wonky knees played a part in that slump – and it didn't matter so much under him as England were winning things (26 Test victories, 11 defeats, with 14 draws). Root has now won 17, lost 15, and drawn four of his Tests in charge, a similar record to Cook's (24/22/13).

While both have better records than Mike Atherton (13/21/20) and Gooch (10/12/12) they had excuses – a county system that worked against England, running their best pace bowlers into the ground. The benchmark remains Andrew Strauss (24/11/15), a record that was good enough to take England to No.1 in the Test rankings for the first and only time in history.

^{Since being appointed captain, Root's Test average has dipped by more than 10 runs}

It started quite well for Root as captain: home series wins over South Africa (3-1) and West Indies (2-1) in 2017, and there were notable follow-ups at home to India in 2018 (4-1) and Sri Lanka away in the subsequent series (3-0). The 2-2 Ashes draw this summer was also respectable – but there was also the Ashes annihilation in 2017/18 (4-0) and feckless losses in New Zealand (twice) and the West Indies.

I have argued before that the captaincy should not automatically be handed to the best batsman by right.

Time is running out for Root's leadership, but he should be in his batting prime now: he has many years (four to six?) left to resume his duels with Williamson, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and David Warner.

Root appears to be following in the footsteps of Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar, master batsmen who inherited the captaincy by default, but for whom the crown rested uneasily on their heads. It is nothing to be embarrassed about. He will still be remembered as one of England's greatest batsmen.

Subscribe to The Cricketer this Christmas and receive a £20 John Lewis voucher or Alastair Cook's autobiography. Claim your free gift here