England Test captain Joe Root is in verge of missing West Indies tour next month to attend the birth of his second child.
England and Wales Cricket Board decides to resume International cricket from July. Where the England vs West Indies series 2020 has been scheduled to get underway from July 8 at Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl, subject to government’s approval. It will then shift Old Trafford in Manchester for the second and third Tests slated to start from July 16 and 24 July respectively.
“It’s evolving. “It’s being discussed with the medical team and we’re trying to stay up to date,” Root said. “At the minute, it’s still open for discussion. How that will finally look, I’m not exactly sure. It will have to come down to government advice, whatever that is. We’ll follow those protocols and do whatever is right.”
Root was appointed captain in 2017 and hasn’t missed a Test since.
The 29-year-old has endorsed the leadership credentials of his deputy Ben Stokes who could be the captain should he miss the Test.
“If Ben was captain, he would be fantastic,” Root said . “One of his great qualities as vice-captain is he sets the example – the way he goes about his training, how he wants to bowl in difficult circumstances, the way he stands up in different scenarios with the bat.”
“He drags people with him and gets the best out of the players around him. That’s a great quality to have as a leader and something he can take into captaincy if he was to get the opportunity. I could see him doing a very good job,” Root added.
Stokes has been England vice-captain for a while now but is yet to captain at the international level.
Root says Stokes has the quality to inspire others around him and he could very well flourish as captain.
“People will always look up to him and want to play for him, whether captain or not,” Root said. “But especially as captain he’ll have people wanting to play for him and short-term he’d be a huge success. Until you get the opportunity to do it longer, you just never know, it might be a huge success. I wouldn’t put it past him.”
