’Talismanic’ Stokes will do a great job as skipper, says England coach

Ben Stokes was on Tuesday named captain for the opening Test against West Indies in place of Root, who has taken leave to be with his wife for the birth of their second child.

Stokes will be captaining the national team for the first time in his career.

England coach Chris Silverwood believes star all-rounder Ben Stokes will lead by example when he replaces Joe Root as captain for the first Test against the West Indies starting here on July 8.

England’s World Cup hero Ben Stokes was on Tuesday named captain for the opening Test against West Indies in place of Root, who has taken leave to be with his wife for the birth of their second child. Stokes will be captaining the national team for the first time in his career.

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“I think he will do a great job. He is a talisman, isn’t he? He leads from the front anyway. He is conscious of the people around him as well so I think he will do a great job in Joe Root’s absence,” Silverwood was quoted as saying by ‘The Guardian’ newspaper.

“We know he has got an aggressive nature but equally there is a good cricket brain in there as well. I think he will be quite vocal about what moves he is making out there.

“I’m looking forward to working with him from a coaching point of view. I will extend him the same courtesies I do Rooty. He will have a lot of say in what is going on and he will play a big part in giving his opinions across selection as well,” he said.

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Silverwood also revealed that Jos Buttler will be Stokes' deputy in the opening Test.

The English coach is not reading much into Stokes’ lack of leadership experience.

“He’s been Rooty’s right-hand man for a while now. I know Rooty does turn to him a lot. He’s been involved in a lot of talks we have behind the scenes,” Silverwood added.