Devesh
Core Member
Joe Root has been named as England's Test captain, succeeding Alastair Cook, who last week stepped down after four years in the job.
Root, 26, had been the frontrunner to follow Cook in the Test role, having been made vice-captain in 2015. He met with Andrew Strauss, England's director of cricket, last week and was offered the job over the weekend but will have to wait five months for his first outing as captain, when England host South Africa in July.
There were few serious alternatives to Root, who has emerged as England's star batsman since making his debut under Cook in 2012. Ben Stokes has been confirmed as Root's new vice-captain. The appointments had been widely anticipated, with England leaving for a one-day series in the West Indies next week.
"It is a huge honour to be given the England Test captaincy," Root said. "I feel privileged, humbled and very excited.
"We have a very good group of players and I'm looking forward to leading them out in the summer, building on Alastair's achievements and making the most of our talents in the years ahead. The senior guys in the changing room play a very influential role and whilst there's a natural progression for me it's a huge support to know that they are there to help and advise."
Strauss chose to give Root more responsibility when taking over as director of cricket two summers ago and he was pleased that the Yorkshire batsman had immediately accepted the promotion to captain, described him as "the right man" to succeed Cook.
Strauss said: "Joe has shown a number of admirable qualities in his Test career so far. Making his debut in 2012 at the age of 21 and going on to establish himself as one of the premier batsmen in all forms of the game in such a short period of time demonstrates his drive, determination, cricketing intelligence and an ability to learn that will serve him well in his new role.
"He is universally respected by his team-mates, passionate about driving the Test team forward and extremely excited about the prospect of leading his country.
"I'm also delighted that Ben Stokes will take over from Joe as vice-captain of the team. He has real presence and influence within the team environment that serve as a great source of support for Joe. I have no doubts that the responsibility will also help Ben to continue his rapid rise as a world class allrounder."
Joe Root named England Test captain | Cricket | ESPN Cricinfo
Root, 26, had been the frontrunner to follow Cook in the Test role, having been made vice-captain in 2015. He met with Andrew Strauss, England's director of cricket, last week and was offered the job over the weekend but will have to wait five months for his first outing as captain, when England host South Africa in July.
There were few serious alternatives to Root, who has emerged as England's star batsman since making his debut under Cook in 2012. Ben Stokes has been confirmed as Root's new vice-captain. The appointments had been widely anticipated, with England leaving for a one-day series in the West Indies next week.
"It is a huge honour to be given the England Test captaincy," Root said. "I feel privileged, humbled and very excited.
"We have a very good group of players and I'm looking forward to leading them out in the summer, building on Alastair's achievements and making the most of our talents in the years ahead. The senior guys in the changing room play a very influential role and whilst there's a natural progression for me it's a huge support to know that they are there to help and advise."
Strauss chose to give Root more responsibility when taking over as director of cricket two summers ago and he was pleased that the Yorkshire batsman had immediately accepted the promotion to captain, described him as "the right man" to succeed Cook.
Strauss said: "Joe has shown a number of admirable qualities in his Test career so far. Making his debut in 2012 at the age of 21 and going on to establish himself as one of the premier batsmen in all forms of the game in such a short period of time demonstrates his drive, determination, cricketing intelligence and an ability to learn that will serve him well in his new role.
"He is universally respected by his team-mates, passionate about driving the Test team forward and extremely excited about the prospect of leading his country.
"I'm also delighted that Ben Stokes will take over from Joe as vice-captain of the team. He has real presence and influence within the team environment that serve as a great source of support for Joe. I have no doubts that the responsibility will also help Ben to continue his rapid rise as a world class allrounder."
Joe Root named England Test captain | Cricket | ESPN Cricinfo