Ben Stokes has recently become the captain of the England Test team. After which much speculation was made about Joe Root’s role in the team. Now new England Test captain Ben Stokes has revealed that former captain Joe Root will bat at number four for him during the upcoming Test series against New Zealand.
Stokes said, “I’ve already talked to Root about this. I’ve asked him to hit again at four.” Stokes himself plans to bat at six and hopes the recently underpowered English batsmen will do well in the first Test against the Kiwis at Lord’s on June 2. Stokes said: “Now I feel like instead of talking about Durham scoring, I want to see who is scoring. At the same time, I have a lot of county games to play now.”
Root batted at number three during England’s most recent Test series against the West Indies in the Caribbean, but has a better record for his country in fourth place. The former England captain has an impressive average of 51.27 when he bats at number four, which is his average (39.67) when he bats at three.
The new England captain has already revealed that he will remember the experienced duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, with first-choice spinner Jack Leach likely in the mix with Ollie Robinson and Chris Woakes. Stokes said: “You look at the players who are unavailable due to injury, like Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Ollie Stone, Sam Curran. They will all work hard for their places now.