Ben Stokes, who is vice-captain of the Test team, will be taking over the reins during their first Test against West Indies with Joe Root sitting out.
England's Ben Stokes plays a shot during the first day of the fourth Test cricket match between South Africa and England at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on January 24, 2020. (Photo by Christiaan Kotze / AFP)
England Test captain Joe Root feels that Ben Stokes is more than well equipped to do the job of leading the side. Stokes, who is vice captain of the Test team, will be taking over the reins during their first Test against West Indies that starts on July 8 with Root sitting out due to the birth of his child.
Stokes had said earlier that he is “the Scottie Pippen to Joe’s Michael Jordan,” referring to the legendary Chicago Bulls duo that led the transformation of the team in the NBA during the 1990s.
Root said that Stokes is closer to Jordan than he is. “I think Ben would make a better Michael Jordan than me for a start,” he said on Sony Ten Pit Stop that was aired on the network’s Facebook page.
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“He leads from the front, just like Michael Jordan did. He goes out there and performs, trains as hard as anybody. I think that is a great quality to have.”
Root compared Stokes’ style of leadership to that of Indian captain Virat Kohli.
“You see some of the great leaders, they do that. Virat (Kohli) being one, performs and expects everyone else to do the same thing.
“I imagine that is how Ben will go about his business. He is already a big leader in the team as the vice captain, there is a huge amount of respect for him. He has achieved so much in the game and in Test cricket and so he is more than well equipped to do the job.”
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