NOTTINGHAM: Former England Test captain Ben Stokes on Monday gave his “100 per cent support” to his successor Harry Brook as his successor.
Brooke, who already captains England in both white-ball formats, was overlooked for the leadership role despite being vice-captain when Stokes missed the second Test of the recently concluded three-match home series against New Zealand.
Instead, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) appointed Stokes’ predecessor Joe Root to captain the Three Lions for the first time in four years – a move that did not suit the all-rounder who had argued that vice-captain Brooke should lead the side.
“There’s a reason he’s been asked to be the vice-captain of this team. With all the controversy over the last two weeks, I know some decisions were made (Root led the team), but those were decisions I didn’t make,” Stokes said.
“You’re asked to be vice-captain of the team for a specific reason. I was vice-captain under Joe for a long time and it was a natural progression. If the captain wasn’t there or wasn’t available, he had to do it. So there’s no reason why Harry shouldn’t (do it),” he added.
Ben Stokes hailed Brook as an incredible player.
“He’s obviously an incredible player, one of the senior players in this group, but we all know he’s an incredibly talented person when it comes to his skills as a batsman. And if you want a bit more responsibility on your shoulders with this team, we don’t know if it’s going to show further improvement in skills already,” he said.
“Time will tell, but don’t ask someone to be vice-captain that you don’t think has the skills and ability to lead the team when they need it. So if I’m thinking about who should do it, I’m throwing my 100% behind Harry Brook.”