What’s the story?
Following Alastair Cook’s resignation as the captain of the English Test team, Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Stuart Broad were interviewed by England director of cricket, Andrew Strauss, and Chairman of selectors, James Whitaker, on Thursday for the captaincy post. Root met the selectors in Leeds as the formal process to select pick Cook’s successor began.
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The main criteria while selecting the captain for England is to pick someone whose talent and skills are good in all the three formats. Root seems like the best contender for the position, currently.
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Nine months before the next Ashes series, a new captain will have to rebuild a young squad to challenge the Aussies. All three candidates played under Cook in the 5-0 defeat Ashes 2013-14 series.
Though Root seems like the definite choice, former England bowler, Graeme Swann, wants Broad to captain England in Tests.
The heart of the matter
On 6th of February, Strauss said that he has to discuss with the senior players before picking the right successor. However, Root has always been destined to be the next man to lead the England team since gaining Test vice-captaincy from Ian Bell in 2015.
The decision ultimately falls on Strauss now that Cook has stepped down. Strauss and Whitaker had a discussion with Root in the morning followed by a talk with Ben Stokes and later met Broad.
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The decision panel also included England coach Trevor Bayliss who has championed the leadership skills of all-rounder Stokes. The English all-rounder was made vice-captain to Jos Butler when Eoin Morgan pulled out and Root was rested in the ODI series against Bangladesh last year.
What’s next?
Stokes is fiercely ambitious and has captaincy credential but he will remain content as Root’s deputy. The ECB will reveal the new captain of the English Test team two days before the limited-overs squad travel to the West Indies.
Sportskeeda take
The time is right for a change in captaincy not because Cook stepped down but as the team requires a successor who can help the team regain their past glory. Cook lacked management skills but he made up for it by being mentally strong and contributing bucketloads of runs with the bat. With Root, Stokes and Broad having different skill sets and strengths, but Root should be the frontrunner as he has already been the vice-captain of the team and seems like a natural choice.
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