Ben Stokes Will Do 'Brilliant Job' As Captain, Says Mark Wood

All eyes are on Ben Stokes as he is set to lead England in the three-match Test series against the West Indies, starting from July 8. It will be a first captaincy stint for the prolific English all-rounder after he last captained a team was during an academy game against Scotland when he was a teenager. Ben Stokes is looking to make the most of his opportunity.

Regular England Test captain Joe Root will miss the first Test due to the birth of his second child. Root has shown his support for Stokes to come out good as a captain in his first international Test as a captain. England fast bowler Mark Wood has backed him to come out well in these circumstances.

Ben Stokes won’t be afraid to tell it straight if someone is not pulling their weight: Mark Wood

Mark Wood has played under the captaincy of Ben Stokes at Durham and has a fair bit of idea about how the all-rounder operates. Wood believes, though Stokes does not have a lot of experience as a captain, he will be in the face and ask people to pull up their socks if they are not putting in their weight.

“There has been a lot of talk about Stokesy being captain in the first Test, with Joe Root missing out to be at the birth of his second child,” Wood wrote in his BBC column.

“I am one of the few people who have actually played under Stokesy, back in our days on the Durham academy. He was a good skipper back then, leading from the front, just like he does now.

“As the years have gone on, he has matured into a senior player, setting the example and dragging people along with him.

“He has a good cricket brain and, even though he does not have much captaincy experience, he will have seasoned players like James Anderson and Stuart Broad around to bounce ideas off.

“Stokesy won’t not just tell people what to do. He knows that players are individuals, so he will treat them as such. That said, he is also very honest, so he won’t be afraid to tell it straight if someone is not pulling their weight or sticking to a plan. He will do a brilliant job.”

Stokes averages over 36 in the longest format and nearly 41 in the ODIs.