Ben Stokes has reportedly been offered the England Test captaincy, with his appointment as Joe Root‘s successor to be made official on Thursday night (AEST).
England’s new managing director of men’s cricket, Rob Key, met with Stokes earlier this week, with the 30-year-old accepting the job.
Root resigned following England’s series loss in the West Indies last month, a result that followed a 4-0 Ashes thrashing, with Australia coming within one wicket of a clean sweep.
READ MORE: Jack de Belin speaks out over female journo fiasco
THE MOLE: Gould says training criticism off the mark
READ MORE: Cameron ‘frozen out’ by GWS power brokers
With the Test team in a state of chaos, Stokes was almost the only viable replacement for Root.
The all-rounder has already captained England in a Test match, having filled in when Root was on paternity leave in 2020. England lost that match to West Indies by four wickets.
His first match as the full-time skipper will be against New Zealand in June.
The Guardian reports Stokes supports a recall for fast bowling greats James Anderson and Stuart Broad, after the pair were controversial omissions from the side that toured the Caribbean.
The position of coach remains up in the air following Chris Silverwood’s resignation, with Australia’s Simon Katich understood to be one of those in contention for the role.
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!