Joe Root emerges as front-runner to be next England Test captain

England are without a Test captain or head coach following Ben Stokes’ sudden international retirement after last month’s 2-1 loss to New Zealand, which led to Brendon McCullum’s role being downsized to overseeing the white-ball teams.

Root, pictured, is poised for another captaincy stint and while The Yorkshire Post understands claims his reappointment is a done deal are wide of the mark, he is now a clear favourite to succeed Stokes.

His Yorkshire team-mate Harry Brook is the only other viable candidate and he said last month it would be a “great honour” to assume the Test mantle, while Stokes even endorsed his deputy at his farewell media conference.

However, Brook already has a massive workload skippering the ODI and T20 teams, and the England and Wales Cricket Board will be wary of overburdening the 27-year-old all-format star, as well as doing anything to disrupt the progress of the limited-overs sides.

Fellow Yorkshireman Root’s brief could therefore extend to next summer’s Ashes, allowing Brook and McCullum to concentrate on the 2027 50-over World Cup in southern Africa a few months later.

Root led England in a record 64 Tests between 2017 and 2022, logging 27 wins, but he fell to as many losses when standing in for Stokes during the second Test against the Black Caps at the Kia Oval last month.

He spoke about the heavy toll the job took first time around, although he appeared reinvigorated by his one-off return in Kennington and did not rule out presiding over the Test team in the future.

With less than four weeks until the first Test against Pakistan on his home ground at Headingley starts on August 19, Root seems set to answer England’s SOS once again.

It was initially thought England would wait for a new head coach to name the new captain but the process to replace McCullum in the Test hotseat is not expected to be completed any time soon.

With Andy Flower last week ruling out a comeback to focus on his T20 franchise commitments, former England batter Jonathan Trott, who has coached Afghanistan, plus homegrown contender Richard Dawson and former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming are in the frame to replace McCullum.

England are prepared to wait to get the right person in situ, which could lead to Marcus Trescothick, one of the assistants under McCullum, stepping in as interim head coach against Pakistan.

Trescothick, a former England batter and instrumental in their seminal 2005 Ashes success, has filled in for McCullum in the past, most recently during the side’s white-ball tour of the Caribbean in late 2024.

Former captain Stokes has previously backed Brook to replace him in the Test arena, insisting it is a “natural progression” for his deputy.

“If I was to be asked who I think should do it, I would be throwing my 100 per cent support behind Harry Brook,” he said.

“There’s a reason he was asked to be vice-captain of this team. I know with all the controversy over the last couple of weeks some decisions were made but they were decisions I was not part of making.

“You are asked to be vice-captain for a reason and I was vice-captain under Joe for a long time. It’s the natural progression: if the captain is not there, you step up. You don’t ask someone to be vice-captain if you don’t think he’s got the skills and ability to captain the team. There is absolutely no reason why Harry shouldn’t be asked to do that.”

Brook has done his chances no harm with six wins across seven completed white-ball matches this summer.

Yet, Brook acknowledged it would be “tough” to juggle all formats ahead of a 2027 where a home Ashes series is followed by an ODI World Cup in South Africa.

Brook said: “That’s not my decision. Whoever is the new coach will have that decision to make. It would be tough to do it, but I’m not saying it is impossible. If I get asked, we’ll see where it takes us.”