England has been pondering on a new Test captain. With rumours circling around Ben Stokes, the all-rounder has rubbished the rumours. Besides, he has backed Joe Root to continue.
England has had a dreadful tour of Australia so far for the Ashes 2021-22. As it trails 0-2 in the five-Test series, it is staring at a whitewash, with the visitors' form showing no signs of improvement. In the meantime, England might be pondering on a new Test skipper, while all-rounder Ben Stokes' name has been doing rounds.
However, Stokes has rubbished the rumours and insisted that he never thought to lead England in the longest format. On the other hand, he also clarified that current Test skipper Joe Root and head coach Chris Silverwood have the full support of the English dressing room. Although Root did an impressive job as a batter in the format last year, his leadership decisions and qualities have been questioned.
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Although Stokes has been England's vice-captain previously, having been the stand-in skipper against the Windies and Pakistan, he has never considered taking up the role full-time. "Captaincy is more than about setting fields, picking the team, making decisions out there in the middle. A captain is someone you want to go out and play for. Joe Root is someone I always want to play for," he told reporters on Monday.
"I've never really had the ambition to be a captain. That's Joe's decision. He shouldn't be forced into doing it. I'm sure Cooky felt the same way. He did it for so long. When he knew his time was up, his time was up. Those discussions haven't been entered anywhere near Joe," Stokes further added.
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Speaking on Silverwood, Stokes reckoned that he happens to be an important guy in the dressing room and is a genuine coach for the players. He revealed that Silverwood stands up for the players while he slammed the media for speculating about his future. He also described his performance in the series as average and is looking to improve the remaining Tests.
"We've shown in small stages that we're capable… but we've not done it for long enough or consistently enough, and Australia have managed to get through those periods where we've had the upper hand. It's about doing it for longer than that and putting some pride back into the badge," Stokes concluded.