Steve Harmison
Steve Harmison. Image-Twitter

Former England bowler Steve Harmison thinks that making Ben Stokes the captain of the Test team is a step in the wrong direction. Currently, Joe Root might be England’s most successful Test captain but his legacy seems to be tarnished because of Ashes performances.

England is down 0-2 in the 2021-22 Ashes and with their batters looking out of touch and the bowlers seemingly toothless, the downward spiral isn’t complete yet. A whitewash is on the cards and that could certainly mean the end of Root’s captaincy stint. Who can be the next skipper if that happens? Stokes is certainly not the option, says Harmison.

Make Ben captain? That would be the worst thing they could do. That would be as bad as anything that has happened at Brisbane. Nasser bowling first, my first ball, and then Joe batting first this time.

Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes (Image Credit: Twitter)

When Ben decided to take some time away from the game that was the lightbulb moment. We have to protect our superstars and putting too much pressure on Ben would be the biggest mistake of all,” Harmison told Sportsmail.

“Even though he’s superhuman at times, that would be too much” – Steve Harmison

There have been numerous occasions where Ben Stokes has saved England from the jaws of defeat. Be it the 2019 ODI World Cup final against New Zealand or the Ashes Test at Headingley in the same year, Stokes seems to be their go-to man when in crisis. However, this challenge is perhaps a bit too much even for Stokes, says Harmison.

Ben Stokes, Joe Root
Ben Stokes, Joe Root. Image-Twitter

I’m sorry. Ben Stokes can’t play for the England Test team, 50-over side, T20 team, and Rajasthan Royals and be Test captain. You can’t ask him to do all that. He’d do the job and he will have a go at me for saying this but even though he’s superhuman at times that would be too much,” Harmison added.

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The problem with the English team is that there is no candidate for captaincy apart from Stokes since no batsman in their lineup has a guaranteed spot in the playing XI. The same applies for the bowlers apart from James Anderson and Stuart Broad but they are definitely not the right options.

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