Joe Root nominates Ben Stokes to lead England if he misses Southampton Test vs West Indies

Dixit Bhargav | 03/06/2020
Joe Root nominates Ben Stokes to lead England if he misses Southampton Test vs West Indies

Joe Root nominates Ben Stokes: The English captain has expressed confidence in his deputy leading the Test side in his absence.

England Test captain Joe Root believes West Indies are helping the game “massively” by agreeing to tour England this month amidst the COVID-19 scare.

With England Cricket Board officially announcing the three-match Test series, Root sounded in awe of the West Indies who are expected to reach England by next week via chartered planes. After quarantining themselves for two weeks, West Indies will resume training before playing the first Test from July 8.

“It’s been extremely difficult times for everyone around the world. For the West Indies to still come over here, they are obviously helping the game massively. It must be extremely scary [for them] and I think the whole cricketing world will be grateful to see some cricket again,” Root was quoted as saying.

Root was among the English cricketers who returned from Sri Lanka in March when coronavirus had started to postpone cricketing events round the globe. Having last played for England during the tour of South Africa earlier this year, Root might end up missing the first Test against West Indies in Southampton.

Joe Root likely to miss Southampton Test

It is worth mentioning that Root and his wife are expecting their second child in the first week of July. With a bio-secure environment set to be created during the Test series, it will become difficult for Root to leave for the hospital before and during the first Test.

“The start of July is the due date, so that complicates things slightly. In terms of the bubble, and the pregnancy, it’s always an evolving thing. It’s being discussed currently with the medical team and we’re always trying to stay up to date with it.

“At the minute it’s still open for discussion but it will have to come down to Government advice, whatever that is and we’ll follow those protocols and do whatever is right,” Root said.

Joe Root nominates Ben Stokes

Being asked about his captaincy replacement, Root didn’t shy away from nominating his deputy and illustrious all-rounder Ben Stokes for the role. The 29-year old player backed his captaincy choice with a detailed explanation as to why Stokes could easily fill the void.

“I think if Ben [Stokes] was captain he would be fantastic. One of his great qualities as vice-captain, and as a leader, is he sets the example.

“It’s the way he goes about his training, how he wants to bowl in difficult circumstances, the way he stands up in different scenarios with the bat…he drags people with him and gets the best out of the players around him.

ALSO READ: James Anderson hopes for career extension due to COVID-19 break

“I think that’s a great quality to have as a leader and something he can take into captaincy if he was to get the opportunity. He’d have people wanting to play for him and short-term he’d be a huge success,” Root added.

While Stokes is yet to captain England at the highest level, Root has led them in 39 Tests starting from 2017. Having scored 3,005 runs at an average of 42.92, Root’s batting average as Test average is significantly lower than his average of 52.80 as a specialist batsman.

Post Edited By: Dixit Bhargav
Ben Stokes England Joe Root West Indies West Indies tour of England 2020

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

Don’t miss these