ENGLAND captain Joe Root looked unimpressed when veterans Stuart Broad and James Anderson began changing his field on Friday night.

Root could even be seen gesturing to the pair to stop as they moved third man finer on day two of the fourth Test against India.

To the unsuspecting viewer, it was a minor disagreement over the English field settings - which Broad was arguably entitled to change as bowler.

But former England captain Nasser Hussain has used the example to suggest Root occasionally loses control of his most experienced bowlers, who have a combined 264 Tests between them.

He said he believes Root often likes to field near the bowler, instead of in the slips, to ensure he has the final say on field placements while the two seamers are bowling.

“When he’s (Root) not at mid-off, Anderson and Broad absolutely rule the roost,” Hussain said during the broadcast. “They set the field, they do everything. They don’t want any input from the captain who’s at second slip.”

Footage from the fourth Test showed Root shaking his head from second slip as Broad altered his field.

“That’s the first time I’ve seen Joe Root get cross on a cricket field with his senior bowlers,” Hussain said.

He added: “I’d actually like to see more of that from Joe Root.”

Hussain believes Root should learn from his opposing captain Virat Kohli, who he said is “clearly” the captain of India.

Further footage showed Root walking up to Broad to have a discussion, which prompted Anderson to approach from mid-on despite not being called.

“Jimmy Anderson wants to come in, he wants to be involved in the discussion,” Hussain said while viewing the footage.

“Joe Root’s saying ‘look, I’ll come, I’m in charge, I set the field. You just bowl.’

“I think that’s why Root at times likes to go to mid-off because he wants to constantly be in Broad and Anderson’s ear.”

Root has played 73 Tests for England since his debut in 2012.

Anderson is 9 years his senior, and Broad five. Anderson, 36, is England’s second-most capped Test cricketer of all time after representing his nation in the red-ball game on 142 occasions.

Broad has played 122 Test matches since 2007.