Stokes is an obvious choice to lead the England Test team: Former captains

On Friday, Joe Root resigned from his post as a captain of England's Test side after a torrid year, ending his five-year tenure at the helm. The right-handed batter endured a tough time last season, losing the Ashes series away from home 4-0 and going down 1-0 against West Indies in the Caribbean last month. 

According to former captains Michael Vaughan and Nasser Hussain, Ben Stokes, the vice-captain of the side, is an obvious choice to take over the reins from Root, 

In conversation with BCC, Vaughan said, "I don't see anyone else who could take the position and be guaranteed of their place in the side. In Ben Stokes, you clearly have someone who has a smart cricket brain. He's going to give it everything, and he will certainly have the respect of the players around him."

One of the stalwarts of England cricket, Hussain, who led the England side from 1999 to 2003, also backed Stokes to take over as Test captain.

"For me, the obvious candidate is Ben Stokes. He has done some phenomenal things as a cricketer and has a very smart cricket brain. He showed that in the World Cup final, he showed that at Headingley. He showed that when he's taken over occasionally from Joe Root," Hussain said on skysports.com.

With captaincy taking a toll on your mental aspect of the game, Hussain feels it is essential that he is in the right place mentally to lead the team. 

The southpaw had taken a break from the game last year to focus on his mental health and returned to competitive cricket in the Ashes series in December. 

"The difficult thing for Stokes is the point I made about the toll it takes on you as a captain. You have to be in the right place mentally and physically," he said.

While Stuart Broad missed out on a place in the squad for the tour to West  Indies, Hussain believes he can still be a short-term option for England if Stokes is not up for it. 

"If Stokes is not in the right place, then short-term Stuart Broad has an excellent cricket brain, is a real fighter, a real competitor, and he's got a point to prove after what's happened in the last few months, and we know what Broad is like when he's got a point to prove.

Another former skipper of England, Michael Atherton, also picked Stokes as the ideal candidate for the top job. 

"You've got to pick somebody who is worth his place in the side. I think the days are long gone where you could have a Mike Brearley-type figure who wouldn't necessarily be a first-choice pick.

"Just because of the scrutiny, you need to be worth your place in the side, so Ben Stokes is the obvious candidate."

"The one great defining characteristic of Ben Stokes is loyalty, and he's very loyal to Joe Root as his number two and very good friends with him. He will feel a lot easier about accepting the job if indeed it comes his way," he said. 

(With inputs from PTI)