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BCB president Nazmul Hassan has said the board will not negotiate further with Faruque Ahmed, who resigned as chief selector on Sunday

Mohammad Isam20-Jun-2016BCB president Nazmul Hassan has said the board will not negotiate with Faruque Ahmed, who resigned as chief selector on Sunday. Hassan said the BCB hadn’t received an official resignation yet.Faruque announced his resignation after the board of directors restructured the selection panel, expanding it to six members comprising the three original selectors, the Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusinghe, and two BCB representatives in cricket operations chairman Akram Khan and director Khaled Mahmud, who is also the Bangladesh team manager. Faruque said the new selection process would be a hindrance.Hassan insisted that Faruque had worked under a similar system when he took over as chief selector for his second stint in 2013.”He hasn’t officially informed me or the board,” Hassan said. “He has been working under the same system all this time. I don’t see any difference now and I don’t know where the problem is. This is not a new system and we are not changing anything as the team is doing well. I think I now have to ask him whether the teams he gave [for approval] wasn’t changed. We had to sit in many meetings with the selectors before every single game.”There is no scope for negotiation. Did we get a better pace bowling coach than Heath Streak? We didn’t negotiate with him when he wanted to leave.”Hassan said Faruque’s success was a factor in his appointment as chief selector to the three-member panel.”I like Faruque,” Hassan said. “We have respected his past record by keeping the chief selector’s post. But he can resign if he doesn’t agree with it. There’s no need to create any problems or spread confusion. I don’t want to do it but if I am pushed, I will tell everyone directly what happened.”Questions were raised after Mahmud’s controversial inclusion in the selection committee, but Hassan said his role was to only provide strategic input.”The manager is not in the selection process,” Hassan said. “The team will be picked by the selectors. Before every series, the coach and manager will only inform the selectors of their requirements. The selectors will pick the team with those in mind.”Tamim Iqbal or Shakib Al Hasan never came to me [for selection matters], only [Khaled Mahmud] Sujon comes to me. We could have included the captain in the selection committee instead of the manager. Since the captain is happy with the inclusion of the manager, the selectors shouldn’t have a problem with him.”

Despite a century from Chesney Hughes, the tenth of his career and his third against Glamorgan the home side remain on course to win their first Championship win of the season at Colwyn Bay

ECB Reporters Network19-Jul-2016
ScorecardChesney Hughes fought hard for Derbyshire but defeat still loomed•Getty Images

Despite a century from Chesney Hughes, the tenth of his career and his third against Glamorgan, and 90 from Wayne Madsen as third-wicket pair added 180, Glamorgan remain on course to win their first Championship win of the season at Colwyn Bay.At the close of the third day’s play, Derbyshire were 413 for 6, a lead of 72 on a pitch which is giving little assistance to the bowlers.With Hughes and Madsen both out, much will depend on the Derbyshire middle and late order batsmen if they are to set Glamorgan a challenging target. Their captain Billy Godleman was 66 not out.After Hamish Rutherford had edged Graham Wagg to the wicketkeeper after scoring 45, Glamorgan had to wait another 46 overs for further success, as the third-wicket pair consolidated throughout a sweltering afternoon.Hughes played and missed many times – especially against the accurate Michael Hogan – but in between played some handsome strokes on both sides of the wicket.He reached his century by sweeping Owen Morgan’s left-arm spin for six, before he was out, edging Wagg to Wallace.Madsen survived a difficult chance down the leg side to Wallace on 70, and a more straightforward chance six runs later to Aneurin Donald at slip, and he appeared destined for three figures before he became Wallace’s fourth victim, when he edged Andrew Salter’s arm ball to the wicketkeeper.Hogan was eventually rewarded when he pinned Neil Broom in front and at that stage Derbyshire were nineteen runs behind. Godleman, batting at No. 5 after being taken ill the previous day, and Shiv Thakor then cleared the arrears and settled into an useful partnership with Godleman reaching fifty from 90 balls .They put on 63 before Thakor shuffled in front of his stumps and was leg before to David Lloyd for 29.Both teams applied themselves well on sweltering day; Derbyshire for their application and determination to improve on their dismal first innings performance, and Glamorgan’s bowlers who stuck to their task and by the end of the day had put their side in sight of a first win.

India A surged to the top of the points table in the Quadrangular A team one day series with a bonus-point, 86-run win over the National Performance Squad in Townsville on Sunday

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Aug-2016
ScorecardFile photo – Karun Nair stitched together important partnerships with the rest of India A’s middle order•AFP

India A surged to the top of the points table in the Quadrangular A team one day series with a bonus-point, 86-run win over the National Performance Squad (NPS) in Townsville on Sunday. Karun Nair and Sanju Samson scored 72 and 54 respectively to help India A post a formidable 7 for 304, the highest team total of the tournament so far, after which India A’s bowlers bundled NPS out for 218 in 46 overs. The pace pair of Jaydev Unadkat and Dhawal Kulkarni took three wickets each.India A had raced off to 27 in the first three overs, after being put in to bat by NPS. They lost opener Faiz Fazal to left-arm seamer Tom O’Donnell in the fourth over. Nair, who opened the innings, anchored India with an 85-ball 72, which included seven fours, while at No. 6, Samson took charge towards the slog overs, striking 54 off 42 balls with three fours and as many sixes. Bookended between the two fifties, were contributions from Shreyas Iyer (45), Manish Pandey (31) and Kedar Jadhav (45) that ensured India kept up a healthy scoring rate in the middle overs.After the early loss of Caleb Jewell, the NPS chase stabilised through a 108-run partnership for the second wicket between the in-form Hilton Cartwright and Sam Heazlett. Cartwright’s 65 was his second successive fifty, while Heazlett maintained his place at the top of the tournament’s run charts with 60. Both batsmen were dismissed in the space of four overs and the NPS chase fell apart after that, as the team lost their last seven wickets for 62 runs.This was the first defeat of the series for NPS, and the action now moves from Townsville to Mackay.

The BCCI will pick national selectors for the men, women and junior selection panels via an interview process for the first time, discarding the previously-used zonal method

Nagraj Gollapudi11-Sep-20161:16

Have raised the bar for selectors – Thakur

The BCCI will pick national selectors for the men’s, women’s and junior selection panels via an interview process for the first time, discarding the previously used zonal method. The deadline for applications closes on September 14 even though the BCCI released the advertisement only on September 10.With the Lodha Committee deciding to do away with the zonal system, the BCCI was forced to abandon the traditional method of appointing national selectors: based on nominations received from the five zones. The eligibility criteria mentioned by the BCCI in its advertisement also differed from the one set by the Lodha Committee.According to the Committee’s guideline, only former India Test players would be eligible to be appointed to the men’s and women’s selection committees, provided they had been retired from the game for at least 5 years.The BCCI’s criteria, however, stated: “He/She should have represented the Indian team either in a Test match or a one-day international or more than 50 first-class matches in India, in a team selected by the BCCI to be considered for the Senior National selection Committee.”For the junior panel, the BCCI wanted eligible candidates to have played more than 50 first-class matches in India, compared to the Lodha Committee’s recommendation of “a minimum of 25 first-class games.”The BCCI also set an age cap of 60 for the eligible candidates, and said that an applicant cannot be a former national selector, be associated with an IPL franchise in any position, run a cricket academy, or have a criminal record.The BCCI did not make it clear whether it would adhere to the Lodha Committee’s decision to restrict the selection committees to three members as opposed to five. “The Men’s Selection Committee shall consist of three persons to be appointed by the Board at the Annual General Meeting, on such terms and conditions as may be decided by the Apex Council from time to time. The senior most Test cap among the members of the Committee shall be appointed as the Chairperson,” the Lodha Committee Report said.That recommendation did not find favour among former national selectors, who felt pruning the panel would be detrimental and result in too heavy a workload, given the size of the country and the number of first-class teams involved.

India completed a 3-0 whitewash in devastating fashion as a seven-wicket haul from R Ashwin shot New Zealand out for 153 in their last innings of the series

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy11-Oct-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details5:56

Agarkar: If Ashwin stays fit, can’t see India in much trouble this home season

India completed a 3-0 whitewash in devastating fashion as a seven-wicket haul from R Ashwin shot New Zealand out for 153 in their last innings of the series. India declared just under an hour from tea, after Cheteshwar Pujara had completed his eighth Test hundred, to set New Zealand a target of 475 and give themselves a day and a half to take 10 wickets. They only needed 44.5 overs, as New Zealand lost nine wickets for 115 runs in the post-tea session.Ashwin’s figures of 7 for 59 were his best in Test cricket, as were his match figures of 13 for 140. He picked up his 21st five-wicket haul, his sixth ten-wicket match haul, his seventh Player of the Match award and seventh Player of the Series award – fourth in a row – as well. There probably isn’t a more influential cricketer anywhere in the world today. Certainly no one has played a bigger part in India securing the No. 1 Test ranking, a feat they got to celebrate when Virat Kohli was handed the ICC Test championship mace at the end of the match, in front of a capacity crowd in Indore.Set a similar task last year in another dead-rubber Test, on a similar slow turner at Feroz Shah Kotla, South Africa chose to block their way to a draw. They didn’t succeed, but they did make India toil for 143.1 overs. New Zealand, having until now given India a harder time on this tour than South Africa did in theirs, adopted an entirely different approach and collapsed spectacularly.Their two most accomplished batsmen, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, exemplified this approach. Both came out looking to attack Ashwin, their tormentor through the series, and ended up playing a part in their own undoing.Williamson hit Ashwin for three fours in his first two overs, either side of tea, but in that time also gave the bowler enough of a clue that he was looking to step across his stumps and play him with the turn as much as possible. He shuffled across again to the eleventh ball he faced from Ashwin, premeditatedly, and a flatter, quicker one turned in and trapped him in front. Like he had done to Kumar Sangakkara on the 2015 tour of Sri Lanka, Ashwin had dismissed Williamson four times in four innings.In his first over at the crease, Taylor jumped out and hit Ashwin over the top for a four and a six off successive balls. As Ashwin’s spell continued, he stepped out again to whip him over midwicket, and then drove him against the turn through the covers. Having gone to 32 off 24, though, he chanced a sweep off a ball that was too full for the shot. It sneaked under his bat and bowled him.Luke Ronchi, James Neesham and Martin Guptill all fell in the next seven overs, the latter two to Ravindra Jadeja, and it seemed almost certain that the match wouldn’t go into a fifth day. BJ Watling and Mitchell Santner hinted that it just might, while putting on 24 for the seventh wicket, but Ashwin came back to break their partnership, bowling over the wicket to the left-handed Santner and beating him with natural variation. Coming forward to defend, Santner inside-edged the ball into his pad and then onto the stumps.India didn’t have to wait too long for the eighth and ninth wickets, but Watling and Trent Boult briefly raised the possibility of their having to come back on Wednesday to take the tenth, by putting on the longest partnership of the innings. They stuck around for 10.1 overs, causing India a bit of frustration – Jadeja bowled a 45kph donkey drop to Boult, Ashwin dragged down a legbreak to Watling – and threatening to take the fourth day into an extra half-hour, before Boult came down the track to drive Ashwin and popped back a waist-high return catch.Cheteshwar Pujara finished with a century and three fifties in the series•BCCI

India declared halfway through the morning session, one ball after Pujara brought up his hundred by helping a short ball from James Neesham to the fine leg boundary. It was a fitting way to reach the landmark, given that the area behind the wicket had fetched him 57 of his runs and six of his nine fours, with the lap-sweep and late cut his go-to shots against the spinners. Having gone to lunch batting on 50 off 98 balls, he had sped away to score 51 off 50 in the second session. At the other end, Ajinkya Rahane helped an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 58 hurry along at 6.44 an over, stepping out to play his favourite chips down the ground and inside-out drives.Ahead by 276 overnight, India had only extended their lead by eight runs when M Vijay was run-out by a brilliant piece of fielding from Guptill in the eighth over of the morning. In walked Gautam Gambhir, who had retired hurt late on the third evening with a shoulder injury. His re-entry sparked an immediate upsurge in India’s run rate, as he took frequent singles against New Zealand’s one-day fields, and pounced on anything remotely loose, his standout shot a drive drilled past extra-cover off Boult.Gambhir’s urgency rubbed off on Pujara as well. He ran as fast as his troubled knees would take him, ending up with a dirt-streaked shirt from all the times he had to dive into the crease, and looked outside his usual repertoire of shots, even jumping out of his crease at one point to flat-bat Boult back over his head.The pair added 76 for the second wicket before Gambhir fell for 50 off 56 balls, chipping Jeetan Patel to short extra-cover. Kohli, the first-innings double-centurion, fell in the sixth over after lunch, given lbw looking to sweep Patel although replays suggested the ball may have struck his pad outside the line of off stump.With nine overs to bat out before tea, New Zealand lost one wicket, Umesh Yadav going around the wicket in his first over and attacking the stumps to get Tom Latham lbw playing around his front pad. New Zealand were 38 for 1 at tea. They probably wouldn’t have imagined that it would all be over after just one more session.

auren Winfield top-scored with 79 and Nat Sciver made 58 as England’s women reclaimed the lead in their ODI series against West Indies

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Oct-2016England Women 220 (Winfield 79, Sciver 58) beat West Indies Women 108 (Gunn 2-8) by 112 runs

ScorecardLauren Winfield restored England’s series lead•Getty Images

Lauren Winfield top-scored with 79 and Nat Sciver made 58 as England’s women reclaimed the lead in their ODI series against West Indies in Jamaica with a crushing 112-run victory at Sabina Park.Despite a repetition of the batting frailties that cost England dearly in the second match of the series in Trelawny earlier in the week, Winfield and Sciver’s efforts proved more than enough as West Indies crumbled to 108 all out in reply to 220.Jenny Gunn, recalled to the side in place of Anya Shrubsole, who was ruled out of the remainder of the tour with a side strain, was the pick of England’s attack with 2 for 8 in five overs.After winning the toss and choosing to bat, England started badly with the loss of Tammy Beaumont and Georgia Elwiss inside the first eight overs. When Heather Knight fell for 22 to make it 74 for 3, Winfield and Sciver combined for a fourth-wicket stand of 95 to lay the foundations of victory.However, from the moment Winfield was bowled by Deandra Dottin, England lost their last seven wickets for 53, including five for 12 in 17 balls as Shaquana Quintyne finished with 3 for 36.England’s total, however, proved to be more than enough. Katherine Brunt trapped Hayley Matthews lbw for 5 before Gunn prised out Stafanie Taylor and Quintyne in quick succession, and when Merissa Aguilliera was run out for a duck, West Indies were 4 for 48 and sinking fast.

The result of the tri-series match between Sri Lanka and West Indies could well hinge on how the two inexperienced batting line-ups handle the seam-friendly conditions at the Harare Sports Club

The Preview by Liam Brickhill15-Nov-2016

Match Facts

Wednesday, November 16
Start time 0930 local (0730 GMT)Zimbabwe didn’t test Sri Lanka’s inexperienced batting line-up on Monday, but West Indies’ attack could pose a bigger threat•AFP

Big Picture

Visiting teams to Zimbabwe often use their time here as a looking glass into the future: which new combinations might be worth exploring? Who are the up-and-coming players? Who’s staking a claim for the next major tour? While West Indies’ circumstances might be a little more tempestuous, both they and Sri Lanka have picked forward-thinking squads for this series, and there is plenty to prove on both sides.This is particularly true of the batsmen. Darren Bravo has been culled from West Indies’ squad for his outburst on Twitter, and they are also missing batsman Marlon Samuels, wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin and allrounder Kieron Pollard, depriving them of a combined 521 ODIs’ worth of experience. With 44 ODIs to his name Johnson Charles is, by some distance, West Indies’ most experienced batsman. Several somewhat unknown entities have a chance to stake a claim.The same goes for Sri Lanka, who already have one eye on their tour of South Africa in the new year. Sri Lanka have captain Upul Tharanga’s 189-match ODI experience to call upon, with Kusal Perera’s international nous to back him up, but not an awful lot beyond that. Their relative familiarity with Zimbabwean conditions and the sparkling form of young batsman Dhananjaya de Silva may give them an advantage, but they will likely find themselves more tested by West Indies’ attack than by anything Zimbabwe have thrown at them in the last few weeks.Sulieman Benn and Sunil Narine have their wiles, and Shannon Gabriel’s improved fitness and balanced action enhances his menace. Captain Jason Holder will be personally buoyed by his recent second innings five-for against Pakistan in Sharjah, but the Bravo imbroglio may dampen the momentum West Indies gained from their historic Test success over Pakistan.Or it may not, given that in recent times West Indies have rarely seemed more than a tweet or two away from controversy, and weathering such storms is all in a day’s work for them. On the field, however, conditions are setting this match up as a middleweight fight that will favour the most sturdy batsmen and most incisive bowlers on either side.

Form Guide

Sri Lanka: WLLLW (Last five completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies: LLLLW

In the Spotlight

Kraigg Brathwaite‘s Herculean efforts in Sharjah helped secure West Indies’ five-wicket win there, but his one-day record remains rather more modest than his Test record. With no Samuels or Bravo to provide the ballast in West Indies’ top order, West Indies will be looking to Brathwaite to step up and glue the top order together.Sri Lanka’s questions around their inexperienced middle order are yet to be answered, given the tiny target and limp bowling attack they faced on Monday. How they stand up to the greater challenge provided by West Indies may be crucial to their overall success.With 44 ODIs, Johnson Charles is the most experienced top-order batsman in West Indies’ tri-series squad•AFP

Team News

Multiple changes to their squad will have shaken West Indies up somewhat, and despite their long-form success in the UAE, West Indies’ recent 3-0 defeat in the ODIs against Pakistan will be in the back of their minds. All the new names in their batting line-up have a chance to clean the slate, and there are several middle-order slots up for grabs and several all-round options.West Indies (possible): 1 Johnson Charles, 2 Kraigg Brathwaite, 3 Evin Lewis, 4 Jason Mohammed, 5 Shai Hope, 6 Shane Dowrich (wk), 7 Jonathan Carter, 8 Carlos Brathwaite, 9 Jason Holder (c), 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Shannon GabrielShehan Jayasuriya came in for some tap from Peter Moor on Monday, but there is no urgent reason for Sri Lanka to tinker with their XI. When the tri-series moves to Bulawayo, they will have expanded opportunities to play their spinners, and there should be a similar make-up to their line-up against West Indies.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Dhananjaya de Silva, 2 Kusal Perera, 3 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 4 Kusal Mendis, 5 Upul Tharanga (c), 6 Asela Gunaratne, 7 Shehan Jayasuriya, 8 Sachith Pathirana, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Suranga Lakmal, 11 Nuwan Pradeep

Pitch and conditions

Zimbabwe coach Heath Streak suggested it wasn’t so much the grass on the pitch as the clouds overhead that aided swing and seam on Monday, and both the pitch and weather conditions are expected to be very similar. Much of the day is expected to be cloudy and overcast, with occasional sunny spells, while there may well be thunderstorms in the afternoon.

Stats and trivia

• In 54 ODIs between these countries, West Indies hold the advantage with 27 wins to Sri Lanka’s 24. Yet that is weighted somewhat by West Indies’ yesteryear prowess. Sri Lanka have won six of the last seven matches between the teams
• Suranga Lakmal is Sri Lanka’s leading wicket-taker this year, with 11 scalps from eight matches at 26.72
• West Indies last visited Zimbabwe in 2007-08, when they won a five-match series 3-1, with one game abandoned

Quotes

“We’ve been facing Carl Mumba who has been bowling very fast, so West Indies’ pace won’t be a problem, rather the ball seaming around will be the challenge for us.”
“It’s obviously a big impact to lose senior guys with experience who bring pedigree to your side. It’s a situation where we have to cope with what we have, and gel together as quickly as possible.”

A half-century from Ben Dunk took Adelaide Strikers to victory over his old team Hobart Hurricanes and kept their hopes alive in the BBL

The report by Alex Malcolm06-Jan-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsBen Dunk batted through the innings in a chase of 162•Getty Images

A serene Ben Dunk half-century helped Adelaide Strikers to a comprehensive win over Hobart Hurricanes and kept them in finals contention.Dunk barely got out of first gear during an effortless 79 not out from 49 balls in sweltering conditions to control a run chase of 162 that wobbled momentarily. Brad Hodge was once again sublime in the middle overs but his dismissal was quickly followed by both Kieron Pollard’s and Jono Dean’s before Chris Jordan helped Dunk see Strikers home with 10 balls to spare.The target would have been far fewer if it wasn’t for a brilliant salvage job from the unheralded Hurricanes duo of Beau Webster and Jonathan Wells. They were brought together at 5 for 30 and produced fine half-centuries each to raise the total to defendable levels. But the damage done early by Jordan, Billy Stanlake and Travis Head with the ball proved too difficult to overcome.Trade wins
The off-season trade of Ben Dunk and Hamish Kingston raised a number of eyebrows and Dunk’s performance against his old side only added to the intrigue. He made just 31 in his first meeting against Hobart last Monday and D’Arcy Short, recruited as Dunk’s replacement, dominated in the Hurricanes’ successful chase.Dunk enjoyed the re-match, becoming the second-leading run-scorer in the BBL while Kingston and Short managed just four runs between them, not to mention leaking a combined 1 for 50 from five overs. Dunk was player of the tournament in the 2013 BBL and said post-match that he was probably playing better now than he did three seasons ago, when he was subsequently picked to play for Australia in three T20 internationals.The Adelaide Strikers fans have taken to Ben Dunk quite quickly•Cricket Australia

Webster’s record
Beau Webster had never batted in a BBL match prior to this game. The 23-year-old Tasmanian has three first-class centuries but had played just one T20 game, also against the Strikers, earlier this week, when he did not bat. On Friday, he walked out to bat with half the side back in the pavilion and one ball short of 14 overs still left.Webster finished unbeaten on 67 off 43 balls, the highest score by a No. 7 in BBL history. He played second fiddle during an 89-run stand with Wells, who played exceptionally well for his 55. Webster accelerated after Wells’ exit reaching 50 in just 36 balls. He showed admirable fitness, running twos late in the innings despite suffering in the stifling heat.Stanlake’s statement
Billy Stanlake has only played seven T20s but his stocks have risen with every outing. He bowled magnificently again picking up the crucial wickets of Kumar Sangakkara and Dan Christian in consecutive balls to leave Hurricanes reeling. The 22-year-old now has six wickets for the tournament at an average of 17.83 and economy rate of 6.97. His height and pace have troubled batsmen consistently and his captain Brad Hodge has backed him to play for Australia at some stage soon.

Jimmy Adams, 49, has been confirmed as the new director of cricket for West Indies, taking over the role from the departing Richard Pybus

Nagraj Gollapudi10-Jan-2017Former West Indies captain Jimmy Adams has taken over as the director of cricket at the West Indies Cricket Board. Adams, who turned 49 on Monday, replaces Richard Pybus, who opted to not renew his contract having served in the role for three years.Last week, ESPNcricinfo reported Adams had accepted the job but was negotiating the terms. On Tuesday, the WICB announced Adams’ appointment stating his contract was for three years.Adams had stepped down last October as the head coach at Kent, a role he had served in since 2012. The timing of his departure from Kent was not lost on many as it had come less than a month after the WICB had sacked Phil Simmons as the West Indies coach.Adams did apply for the vacant head coach position of the West Indies, but was persuaded to take up the role of the director of cricket instead. Incidentally, Pybus was part of the selection panel that picked Adams.”Jimmy thinks the timing is right for his new role with the WICB,” the WICB media release said. Adams said he was looking forward to contributing to the growth of West Indies cricket. “I am very excited to be directly involved in Caribbean cricket once again, and I look forward to working with all those committed to moving the game forward in the West Indies.”His predecessor, Pybus, acknowledged the scope of the challenge Adams faced, but felt the Jamaican was well suited to take over the role.”I look forward to Jimmy bringing the breadth of his international experience and knowledge of cricket in the Caribbean to continue the work of rebuilding West Indies Cricket,” Pybus said in the release. “It is an exciting time for cricket in the region, with the momentum of the [T20] World Cup’s success and the professional cricket structures beginning to produce players capable of competing and excelling at international level.”Prior to returning to the West Indies to take on the director of cricket role, Adams served West Indies cricket in a variety of positions including West Indies U-19 manager. As a player, he made his Test debut in April 1992 and played 54 Tests, with a highest score of 208 not out against New Zealand, and also played 127 ODIs.

Ben Stokes will not necessarily be promoted to lead England’s Test side if Joe Root is obliged to miss a game

George Dobell15-Feb-2017Ben Stokes will not necessarily be promoted to lead England’s Test side if Joe Root is obliged to miss a game.Root and Stokes were both appointed last week following the resignation of Alastair Cook. But while describing Stokes as “the perfect man” for the role of vice-captain to Root, Andrew Strauss, the director of England cricket, clarified on Wednesday “that doesn’t necessarily mean Ben is going to be a shoo-in to be England captain at some stage in the future.”Strauss explained: “The way we’ve approached this is we’ve said: ‘What do we need in a vice-captain? And what will complement Joe as captain as well as possible?'”Ben Stokes is far and away the best candidate to do that. He’s developing fantastically quickly. So as second in charge, he’s the perfect man for that role at the moment.”But just as when Joe was made vice-captain, that doesn’t necessarily mean Ben is going to be a shoo-in to be England captain at some stage in the future. I don’t think it would be right for me to say that, in absolutely every circumstance, Ben would definitely take over from Joe.”Stokes has even less captaincy experience than Root. While Root has led in four first-class games, Stokes had not led in any first-class or limited-overs matches for Durham or England and only has skippered Durham junior sides on three occasions (two for the Academy and one for their U17s). While Strauss suggested opportunities would be given for him to lead in tour matches where possible, he has retained the option of appointing an alternative stand-in for Root if he feels it is appropriate.While such a move might raise questions about the need to appoint a vice-captain in these circumstances, it remains likely that Stokes would be the man to stand in for Root if required. While Stuart Broad and Jos Buttler, if selected, have some captaincy experience – both have captained England in the shorter formats – neither could be considered such an outstanding candidate at this stage that they could expect to step in if Root is indisposed.Instead, the England management will look to find opportunities for Stokes to gain some captaincy experience during tour games with Strauss stating that “the intention” would remain that Stokes was the man to replace Root if he is injured or ill.”It’s not an easy thing to give people leadership experience when they’re in the England team 12 months of the year,” Strauss said. “So of course, we’ll look for opportunities to be able to do that. And I do think that, by and large, there’s no reason why he can’t take over. That’s certainly the intention.”