Former England captains say talismanic all-rounder Ben Stokes should fill the vacuum left after Joe Root resigned as Test skipper.
The 30-year-old Stokes — presently nursing a knee injury — can take the England job with an easy conscience as he had said he would turn it down if his good friend Root was sacked.
Root, though, walked of his own accord an-nouncing his resignation on Friday. It followed a dire past year of results reaching its nadir with a 4-0 thrashing by Australia in the Ashes series and then a 1-0 loss to the West Indies.
Root, appointed as Alastair Cook’s successor in 2017, holds the record for the most matches (64) and most wins (27) as England skipper, but he also has the unwanted record for most defeats (26). Michael Vaughan — who skippered England in 51 Tests and unlike Root won an Ashes series — told the BBC Stokes is the natural choice.
Veteran fast bowler Stuart Broad, England’s second-highest wicket-taker in Tests, has also been mentioned as a potential captain but his place in the side is seen as being less secure — he was contro-versially omitted from the West Indies tour. “I don’t see anyone else who could take the po-sition and be guaranteed of their place in the side,” said Vaughan referring to Stokes.—Agencies
