Stuart Broad has done his best to distance himself from swirling suggestions that he could become England’s next Test captain in the wake of Joe Root stepping down after five years and 64 Tests in charge, with the 35-year-old insisting the role is “not something I have given any thought to” and suggesting Ben Stokes is the leading candidate to replace Root.
Broad
has been touted as a possible short-term replacement for Root after his
announcement on Friday that he was stepping down as England’s Test skipper and
while the Nottinghamshire seamer can see why that is the case given his vast
experience and the fact he has captained England in both one-day internationals
and Twenty20 matches, he does not, for now, appear keen to put himself forward
for the job.
“Naturally, I am aware that my name has been touted as a potential successor to Joe as England captain, I guess that is because I am an experienced centrally contracted player who has been around the international game a long time,” said Broad, continuing, and perhaps pointedly given his previous writing on the subject of his dropping, that “it [the Test captaincy] is not something I have given any thought to because firstly I am not currently in possession of a shirt within the England Test team and my focus is very much on changing that by taking wickets for Nottinghamshire over the next few weeks.”
Broad,
in his latest column for the Mail on Sunday, continued: “I would argue we are
in a fairly unique position as far as selection for the Test team goes right
now in that there are only two players whose names you could write in pen on
the scorecard. One of them is Joe Root, the other is Ben Stokes – and one of
them isn’t going to be captain for the first Test of the summer against New
Zealand at Lord’s on 2 June because he has just given the job away.”
Broad
has made 152 Test match appearances for England since making his debut in 2007
and has taken 537 wickets at an average of 27.80. England have not had an
out-and-out bowler as Test captain since the spinner John Emburey briefly took
charge in 1988, the fateful summer of four men holding the mantle in a matter
of months.