England all-rounder Ben Stokes returned to the national squad after missing out five consecutive months from international cricket. While Stokes is quickly returning in the form, England captain Joe Root is not yet ready to re-assign him as a vice-captain in Test.
Since the last September, Stokes had not represented the England side for the next five months due to a charge of affray over a brawl outside a Bristol nightclub. At that time, Stokes was the vice-captain of England’s Test team.
England’s experienced pacer James Anderson was elected as the vice-captain of the Test team during The Ashes 2017/18, where Stokes totally missed out.
Also read: Ben Stokes felt frustrated after missing out The Ashes
Recently, Stokes made a comeback into the national team and has played two ODIs. In the last ODI, Stokes received the Player of the Match award after providing a brilliant all-round performance on the field.
Now, one of the most important talking points about Stokes is to return as a vice-captain in Test.
England skipper Joe Root said that they are not taking the decision on the Test vice-captaincy yet. Talking about that, Root said according to the espncricinfo, “That’s a decision we’ve not agreed yet. I think when we get together as a group me and Trevor will discuss a few things but that’s not been discussed yet. All I can say is what I’ve seen of him coming back into the environment and he’s worked his nuts off as we expected him to.”
Talking about Ben Stokes’ comeback in international cricket, Root spoke out, “He’s gone about things exactly how you’d expect a really good professional to do and that sort of standard in training is why you get the performances on the field.”
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After the ongoing five-match ODI series, England will play two-match Test series on the New Zealand tour. The Test series will begin from 22nd March which means England has still some time to decide on this important matter and that’s why they are not hurrying up.
Root praised Stokes on his work to return the national side and contribute to his team. The 27-years old England captain said, “He worked really hard back home in Durham to make sure when he did get his opportunity to come back and play he was ready. He loves playing for England and you can see that in the way he plays. He leaves nothing out there on the field, he’s really dedicated to this sport and it’s really nice to be able to look back on the last game and see him have such an influence on the result.”
Root added, “It’s a testament to just how good a player he actually is, to have such a period out of the game and come straight back and perform how he has shows the skill level of the individual really. It’s good to see him back playing, it really is.”
