England’s Stokes revokes leading promise

Ben Stokes has no desire to be England captain, saying: “It’s just not one of those things I’m desperate to do.”

Stokes said earlier that he “could never say no” to the job but has now said that he would be concerned about the responsibility on his shoulders becoming too much to bear.

England’s talismanic allrounder insists he is content with his role in the side as well as his status as deputy to Test skipper Joe Root.

“That’s not an aspiration of mine,” Stokes said of the captaincy. “It’s just not one of those things I’m desperate to do. I’m very happy at the moment being vice-captain, we’ve got a great leader in Joe.

“You never know how you handle the pressure

“You never know how you’ll handle that pressure”

of being England captain unless you do it. Being the Test captain of England – so much pressure comes with it.

“It’s a huge burden to carry because everything falls back on you, especially if it goes bad, and you never know how you’ll handle that pressure until you walk out on to the field as England captain.

“So I’ve got no idea how I’d handle it if I did it but, as I say, it’s not an aspiration of mine.”

Stokes is in the prime of his professional career and has enjoyed an incredible past few months, starring in England’s historic World Cup triumph and the drawn Ashes series.

But when he does eventually retire, Stokes envisages remaining in cricket and would welcome a coaching role.

He added: “I can’t ever see myself just completely disconnecting myself away from the game as some people have.”