Ben Stokes, the England captain, has announced his retirement from international cricket. There will be plenty of time to celebrate his glittering career, his force of personality and his refusal to admit that a lost cause was lost. There will also be time to discuss the reasons for his decision and the wisdom (or otherwise) of making the announcement in the middle of an important Test match. The most pressing question now is: how should England go about replacing him?
England lost the game badly and it looks extremely unlikely that Joe Root will be asked to return to the captaincy full time
The answer is: carefully. The next Test match – against Pakistan – starts on 19 August so the England cricket authorities have plenty of time to think very carefully about who should be the new captain. They should not rush this. Sometimes the selectors give the impression that there’s nothing to think about. In this case that would mean immediate promotion for Harry Brook.
Brook might indeed be the right answer. He is certainly a thrilling cricketer and clearly central to England’s future. He also has the formal advantages of being the Test vice-captain and the white-ball captain. But Brook is already leading the limited-overs sides and still making the transition from brilliant young batsman to senior international cricketer.
