Joe Root appointed England Test captain, Ben Stokes to be his deputy
What’s the story?
Following the resignation of Alastair Cook, 26-year old batsman Joe Root has been appointed as England’s Test captain. He was offered the role by the Director of Cricket in England, Andrew Strauss, and accepted it over the course of the weekend.
Speaking on the appointment, Colin Graves, Chairman of the ECB, said: “The role of Test captain is an honour and a responsibility which he thoroughly deserves. Joe has maturity beyond his years and having seen him develop at Yorkshire over the last ten years I know his qualities well”.
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The 26-year old right-hander replaces Alastair Cook, who ended his captaincy career after a horrendous tour of India, where the tourists were thrashed 4-0 in the five-Test series. Cook’s decision was not forced, and was taken after ample deliberations.
In the 59 Tests that he captained, Cook lead his team to victory in 24 matches, losing 22 and drawing 13. Cook had taken the captaincy from the current Andrew Strauss, the current Director of Cricket.
The heart of the matter
The decision was confirmed by the England Cricket Board (ECB) after the Executive Board gave a formal consent to the same. After meeting Root, Strauss had a chat with Ben Stokes, who was named Root’s deputy. It has been a meteoric rise for the 26-year old Root, who, just four years after making his Test debut himself leading the English side.
There were talks about possible candidates in the form of Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali. Earlier today, Stuart Broad had backed Root to be the captain of the England team, which made it all the more clear that the Yorkshire batsman, who has been in top form, will be the skipper.
What’s next?
England’s next Test series is against South Africa, which begins on July 6 at Lord’s.This gives Root ample time to learn the ropes of his newest role. As for Cook, he will be in the Test side primarily as a batsman.
Sportskeeda’s take
At 26, and in the form of his life, Root couldn’t have been offered the role at a better time. If he is able to recreate the form Virat Kohli has been in after being made the Test captain, England cricket will be well served.
Also read: End of an era as Alastair Cook steps down