Ben Stokes questions England's decision to give Test captaincy to Joe Root

By SABC Sport
4th August 2026

Ben Stokes has criticised England's decision to hand the Test captaincy back to Joe Root, saying Harry Brook should have been appointed to the position.

Brook was Stokes' vice-captain before the allrounder announced his shock retirement from international cricket following the Test series defeat to New Zealand last month.

Stephen Fleming replaced Brendon McCullum as Test coach while Root will return as skipper, a role he had for five years between 2017 and 2022 before Stokes took over.

Stokes questioned the logic of the captaincy succession plan as Brook had been named his deputy, and is currently England's white-ball skipper.

Speaking on the For The Love Of Cricket podcast, Stokes said: "If you think someone is going to be a good captain or a good leader, just give it to them.

"Brooky was made vice-captain. I'm not there any more, but even when I missed that Test match, I was like, 'he's vice captain?' I sort of understood the reasoning why they were saying it, but I was still like 'what message is that sending to him?'

"He's vice-captain, and the captain is not playing, but he's not captain. And then the same again here. I had no leadership or captaincy experience when I took over. They just thought I was going to be a good captain."

Stokes also played down talks that the England team had a drinking problem after he and seamer Gus Atkinson had been dropped a Test against the Kiwis for missing a team curfew.

The incident raised concerns about the team's relationship with alcohol after a shambolic Ashes tour, that was beset by plenty of off-field issues in Australia.

Stokes added: "That's such an extreme thing to put on a team. I think cricket has a drinking culture and it hasn't changed. We're in 2026 now, where the game has got more professional over the years, and the one thing that has just stayed in cricket is its relationship with alcohol.

"The relationship between alcohol and cricket is something that just hasn't moved on as cricket has become more professional, with sport science and medicine, nutrition.

"So, for the people who think that the English cricket team has a drinking culture, I'd say no, cricket has a culture that's associated with alcohol. I think it can be a problem... I don't know what you do to change it.

"I've had, I wouldn't say problems, but relationships with alcohol over my career that have been potentially dangerous, if that makes sense? But that's completely different to me now."