Buttler’s Test place is secure as vice captain

BEN Stokes will captain England for the first time in next week’s opening Test against the West Indies, with Joe Root taking time out to attend the birth of his second child.

Root’s wife Carrie is due to give birth later this week and, with the strict protocols in place to ensure the series takes place in a ‘bio-secure’ environment, he will need to be isolated from the group for at least a week on his return.

That means Stokes will be the man to lead the team out at the Ageas Bowl next Wednesday, despite having never before taken the reins in first-class cricket.

Lancashire wicketkeeper Jos Buttler, who serves as vice-captain to Eoin Morgan in the limitedovers side and has also been Root’s deputy in the past, will be Stokes’ second-in-command.

However, Root will be back for the second Test at Emirates Old Trafford starting on July 16.

Stokes and Buttler will both be involved in a three-day internal match which begins at the Ageas Bowl this morning, with Root heading north for Sheffield to link up with his family.

Buttler’s side includes Red Rose team-mate Matthew Parkinson, while Lancashire’s Jimmy Anderson, Saqib Mahmood and Keaton Jennings are in Stokes’ team.

Buttler’s nomination appears to settle one of the key selection questions. He has not scored the runs to indisputably nail down his position as wicketkeeper-batsman and, with Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes circling, there had been some suggestion he could be steered towards one-day specialism this summer.

For now, at least, that will not be happening.

Stokes has been preparing for this moment since the schedule confirmed a likely clash for Root, and declared earlier this week he plans to be an attacking captain in keeping with his all-action style on the field.

Head coach Chris Silverwood has no qualms about his credentials, despite his own admission that he last led a team as a teenager in the Durham academy.

“I think he’ll do a great job. He is a talisman, he leads from the front anyway,” said Silverwood.

“It will be interesting to see what he does because obviously it is his first time captaining England. We know he has got an aggressive nature but equally there is a good cricket brain in there as well.

“I think he will be quite vocal about what moves he is making when he is out there and I’m looking forward to working with him from a coaching point of view.

“He’s been Rooty’s right-hand man for a while now. I know Rooty does turn to him a lot and he’s been involved in a lot of talks we have behind the scenes.”