Ben Stokes Named England's New Test Captain, To Succeed Joe Root

England New Test Captain: "I am honoured to be given the chance to lead the England Test team," said Stokes as reported by BBC.

English All-rounder Ben Stokes in action during a test match against West Indies (Source: Getty)

New Delhi: English All-rounder Ben Stokes has been named England's new Test team captain and will succeed Joe Root. The latest decision was taken by new managing director Rob Key. 

Root resigned as captain after the 1-0 series loss against the West Indies. He had been facing criticism since the humiliating 4-0 defeat in the Ashes series in Australia.

Congratulations to our new Men's Test captain, @benstokes38! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏏

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) April 28, 2022

"I am honoured to be given the chance to lead the England Test team," said Stokes as reported by BBC.

"This is a real privilege, and I'm excited about getting started this summer."

England's new director of men's cricket, Rob Key, said: "I had no hesitation in offering the role of Test captain to Ben," said Key.

"He epitomises the mentality and approach we want to take this team forward into the next era of red-ball cricket.

Stokes' first match as England's permanent captain will come at the start of the three-Test series against New Zealand at Lord's on June 2.

Ben Stokes made his Test debut in 2013. In 2017 he was appointed the vice-captain of the Test team. He has also captained in the absence of Root.

Stokes has played 79 Test matches for England so far and has scored 5061 runs. During this, his bat has scored 11 centuries and 26 half-centuries. At the same time, he has also taken 174 wickets with the ball. His best performance with the ball has been eight wickets for 161 runs. At the same time, his innings of 258 runs with the bat are his biggest score.

Root has announced to step down as the captain of the Test team after the humiliating defeats against Australia and West Indies. England's performance in the World Test Championship 2021-2023 under Root's captaincy was disappointing. The team has managed to win only one match out of 13 during this period. England is at the bottom of the WTC points table in 10th position.