West Indies tour of England 2020: Joe Root to miss Southampton Test; Ben Stokes to lead England

Joe Root to miss Southampton Test: It has been confirmed that the English captain will miss the first Test against West Indies.

England Test captain Joe Root is all set to miss the first Test against West Indies at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton as him and his wife Carrie are expecting their second child in the first week of July.

Considering that the resumption of international cricket post the COVID-19 outbreak will be happening inside a bio-secure bubble, Root will be required to home quarantine for seven days after the birth of his second child before entering the bubble according to England Cricket Board.

Root, 29, is expected to join the English team on July 13 in Manchester where the second and third Tests are scheduled to be played.

Joe Root to miss Southampton Test

The development regarding the English captain is not unknown as he himself had nominated his deputy Ben Stokes as his replacement to lead England nearly a month ago.

Stokes, 29, has been England’s Test vice-captain for some years now. A stellar all-rounder across formats, Stokes is inexperienced in the captaincy department as he is yet to lead a side in competitive cricket.

Confirmation that Joe Root will miss next week’s first Test (birth of second child).

Ben Stokes – captain
Jos Buttler – vice-captain

— Simon Mann (@Cricket_Mann) June 30, 2020

While former England batsman Kevin Pietersen spoke against Stokes leading the Test team in Root’s absence, the Durham player sounded prepared to take on the role on July 8.

England ODI and T20I vice-captain Jos Buttler has been named to play Stokes’ deputy in the first Test against West Indies. While the same almost confirms the former playing as a wicket-keeper batsman much like he did in South Africa earlier this year, it also settles the debate between picking one out of Buttler, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes.

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.

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