Former England captains back Ben Stokes to take over from Joe Root

All-rounder seen as best candidate for job after Root resigned as Test captain

Joe Root has stepped down from his role as England Test captain and talk has begun over who will next step into the position. Swipe or click through the gallery to view five potential candidates. Reuters

Ben Stokes: Root’s deputy and loyal ally. Said he had no captaincy ambitions on the occasions he was tasked with filling in for his mate. Seems the most likely replacement, but – with England’s next Test seven weeks away – he is under an injury cloud and has a lot of other jobs on his plate at the best of times. Reuters

Eoin Morgan: England’s World Cup-winning white-ball captain has been vocal about the fact England can – and should – be successful in all three formats of the game. His spell as the limited-overs leader has been transformative, but he last played a Test nearly 10 years ago, so a switch to whites appears far-fetched. PA

Stuart Broad: Maybe even more far-fetched than Morgan, given he and fellow pace bowling great James Anderson currently appear to be persona non grata. But the fire still burns for Broad, who turns 36 in June, to return. He would be an intriguing choice, even as an interim. AP

Will Rhodes: Aged 27, Rhodes has a mediocre first-class record, with seven tons in 72 matches and an average of just over 35. However, the Warwickshire captain, who also led England’s Under 19 side at the 2014 World Cup in the UAE, is highly regarded as a leader. Getty

James Vince: Tried and disregarded as a batter by England, but he has continued to flourish in the county game with Hampshire. A return as Test captain would go against the prevailing thinking in England’s corridors of power – but those corridors are increasingly empty now anyway. Getty

Former England captains Michael Vaughan and Mike Atherton say star all-rounder Ben Stokes should fill the vacuum left after Joe Root resigned as Test skipper.

Stokes, who is currently 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 announcing his resignation on Friday.

It followed a dire past year of results reaching its lowest point 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).

Vaughan, who captained England in 51 Tests and unlike Root won an Ashes series, told the BBC Stokes is the natural choice.

Veteran fast bowler Stuart Broad has also been mentioned as a potential captain but his place in the side is seen as being less secure after he was controversially omitted from the West Indies tour.

"I don't see anyone else who could take the position and be guaranteed of their place in the side," said Vaughan referring to Stokes.

"In Ben Stokes you have clearly got someone who has got a smart cricket brain, he's going to give it everything, he is certainly going to have the respect of the players around him."

Vaughan, though, added Stokes will require help from other experienced players in the team.

"Stokes is everything in a person and a player that you would want," said 47-year-old Vaughan.

"But he will need a lot of support around him because when you have got that all-rounder tag and they've got that persona that they think they can do everything.

"You need to have someone say 'listen Ben, just concentrate on what you're really good at' and that's out on the field, making decisions and trying to just give us your best performance."

Atherton, who captained England 54 times,said 30-year-old Stokes could be a stop gap leader.

"That Root stepped down of his own accord makes it easier now for Ben Stokes, the only viable candidate, to take over," wrote Atherton in The Times.

"Loyalty is everything to Stokes and he would not have wanted to take over had he felt that Root had been pushed aside.

"Stokes should be given the job, but it does not have to be for the long term. A short, sharp shock is required."

Former England Test bowler and now BBC correspondent Jonathan Agnew agreed with Atherton regarding it not needing to be a long term appointment.

However, he took issue with Stokes being a natural fit for the captaincy.

"There are so few candidates that it rules out any kind of long-term appointment," Agnew told the BBC.

"Someone like Ben Stokes could be one if he is fit enough, but I do not know if it is good for Stokes or for English cricket if he was saddled with the captaincy.

"You look back at the big characters that have captained England like Ian Botham, Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff - they have all failed as captains.

"We all want Stokes to go out there and express himself."