Ben Stokes backs Harry Brook to become England's next Test captain

Ben Stokes has backed Harry Brook to become England's next Test captain following the all-rounder's retirement from international cricket. In the Test format, Brook has served as Stokes' replacement and is currently England's captain in both the ODI and T20I formats. However, the England management picked former skipper Joe Root to lead the team against New Zealand in the Oval Test of the just concluded series in the absence of Stokes, who had been left out for disciplinary reasons alongside Gus Atkinson. Stokes clarified that he wasn't a part of the decision-making process when Root was chosen ahead of Brook to lead at The Oval. "There's a reason why he was asked to be vice-captain of this team," Stokes said following England's defeat in his final Test. "I know with all the controversy over the last couple of weeks, there was some decisions that were made but those were decisions that I wasn't part of making." The 35-year-old stressed that Brook's elevation to Test captaincy should be a natural progression given he is already the vice-captain. "You're asked to be vice-captain of a team for a certain reason," Stokes pointed out. "I was vice-captain under Joe for a long time and it's a natural progression. If the captain's not there or unavailable then you step up to be that. So there's absolutely no reason why Harry shouldn't be asked to do that. He is someone who is obviously an incredible player, one of the more senior players in this group." Throwing his '100% support' behind Brook, Stokes also pointed out the possibility of the 27-year-old becoming better with the bat if given the responsibility. "We all know he's a phenomenally talented individual when it comes to his skill as a batter," he said. "And if you lump a bit more responsibility on his shoulders with this team, we don't know if that's going to show any more improvement in the skills that he's already got. "Only time will tell, but you don't ask someone to be vice-captain if you don't think that they've got the skills and the ability to be able to captain the team when they need to. So if I was to be asked who I think should do it, I'm throwing my 100% support behind Harry Brook."