As first weeks in a new job go, it is fair to say that ex-Middlesex man Andrew Strauss’ has been one of the more stressful.

Since being appointed as national director of cricket by the ECB last Saturday, Strauss has had to deal with the fallout from a disappointing 1-1 series draw in the West Indies, the saga over Kevin Pietersen's international future and the fact England are without a permanent coach following the departure of Peter Moores.

One of his comparatively simple decisions was to appoint Joe Root as vice-captain of the Test side – the Yorkshireman having long been tipped to captain his country one day.

And while the fact England face a third-ranked New Zealand team at Lord's starting on Thursday has almost been forgotten amid the off-the-field changes, Root claims it is now the players' duty to ensure Strauss' tenure has a more stable future.

“As players, we’ve got a responsibility to go out there to put some really strong performances in, win some games and make Andrew Strauss' job as easy as possible,” explained Root.

“His role is for him to discuss but all I can talk about is making his life easier by going out there as players and winning games of cricket.

“That’s all we can worry about – getting on the field and doing our best.

“I’ve not spoken to any of the other lads since his appointment, other than a few text messages here and there, so I don’t know what the feeling is.

“We get together as a group next Monday and I think we’ll have discussions then. I’m sure Andrew will come and speak to us but that’s something we’ll discuss as a squad when we come together.”

Following the series with New Zealand, England face Australia and will try to regain the Ashes after the 5-0 drubbing they received Down Under 18 months ago.

As a player, Strauss accrued over 7,000 runs in his Test career and captained England to back-to-back Ashes victories.

Confident: Middlesex and England legend Andrew Strauss

And Root is adamant that experience will enable the 37-year-old to help the current crop produce their best cricket in the coming months.

“I think Andrew Strauss has got a big role to play in England’s future now and it is going to be really interesting to see how things develop,” added Root.

“It’s an exciting summer coming up, we’ve got some tough opposition coming out here and his experience can only help.”

Joe Root was speaking at the filming of the LV = Broken Through video. To keep up to date with the LV= County Championship visit LV.com/cricket or follow @LV_Cricket on Twitter.