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 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.

Despite Broad’s dampening of the rumour mill, if he were to get the nod then he would be the first seam bowler to take the reins of the Test side since Bob Willis’s 18 Test tenure between 1982 and 1984. And two former England players, the ex-captain Nasser Hussain and Nick Compton, are among those to have backed him to become interim captain, with Hussain proposing Stokes as long-term successor.

Broad went on to praise Root’s “great leadership on and off the field” during his spell as captain and insisted he felt no bitterness towards his captain after being left out of the tour to West Indies along with James Anderson. “From my point of view, that’s professional sport and it would never stop me enjoying a nice glass of red wine or playing a round of golf with those who came to such decisions,” he said.

Source: The Guardian

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