Cricket news: Ben Stokes under pressure - five contenders for the captain’s role

England men’s cricket captain Ben Stokes has been in the press for all the wrong reasons since Sunday night, alongside team-mate and bowler Gus Atkinson.

The pair are believed to have been involved in an incident that included an interaction with Saracens forward Totoa Auvaa, at Rex Nightclub in Chelsea into the early hours of Monday morning.

They were also found breaking the midnight curfew set for the England cricket team following numerous incidents of problematic behaviour during the Ashes tour over the winter.

Following this, it remains unclear as to whether Stokes will continue as England captain. 

He has been left out of the 15-man squad for the second Test against New Zealand at The Oval, with former captain Joe Root set to lead the side.

Without an obvious successor, Sports News Blitz writer Jacob Hibbert takes a look at five candidates to take over as England captain if Stokes’ time comes to an end.

Harry Brook

Before the start of the 2025/26 Ashes in Australia, Harry Brook looked destined to be the man to inherit Stokes’ throne and take on the red-ball captaincy alongside leading the white-ball teams.

This changed, however, when news emerged in January that he had been involved in an altercation with a bouncer during their white ball tour of New Zealand at the end of 2025.

The fact that he still holds England’s vice captaincy, taking over from Ollie Pope in September 2025, but was not named captain for the second Test match, has led many people to ask if he will ever get the chance to be the head of the Test team.

Whilst he certainly has the character and quality to take on one of the most scrutinised positions in world cricket, it may take a little while longer before people can look past his actions and trust him to lead this England side.

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Joe Root

When you are the second highest run scorer in Test cricket history, naturally people are going to want you to lead the team through tumultuous times. 

Joe Root is leading the side for the second New Zealand Test, but could he take the job on permanently?

He was England captain for five years from 2017-2022, and his 64 Test matches are the most of any Englishman to hold the captaincy. 

However, Stokes does have a far better win percentage at 55.81% compared to Root’s 42.18%.

In his time as captain, Root scored over 5000 runs at an average of 46.44. Although that isn’t as high as his overall average which is a touch above 50, it shows he can still perform as when he is in charge of the team.

With his ability and seemingly unblemished record off the field, he seems like the easy choice for captain, but he’s unlikely to be keen on taking the job permanently for a second time and England can’t keep relying on the Yorkshireman to bail them out in times of trouble.

Jacob Bethell

On the surface this seems somewhat rogue, but maybe a 22-year-old Jacob Bethell is the best man for the job.

Ordinarily a player this young would not be named the captain of a Test team, but Jacob Bethell is not ordinary.

He has already led England, when he became the nation’s youngest captain for the T20 series versus Ireland at the end of the last English summer and will captain Birmingham Phoenix during this summer's Hundred competition.

Whilst he was present during Harry Brook’s nightclub incidents and there are videos online of him at clubs in the past, they have not done as much damage to his reputation as other England players who have been seen in similar situations.

In his seven Tests he has shown he is good enough to be a mainstay in the side - in large part thanks to his magnificent 154 at the SGC in January.

Brendon McCullum’s style of cricket is all about making statements, so why not make a big one here?

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Ollie Pope

It seems like the 64 Test matches that Ollie Pope played for England have already been forgotten about since the previously mentioned Jacob Bethell took his spot in the side during the Ashes.

Since then he’s been featuring in Surrey’s County Championship side, where he is averaging 62.28 over 10 innings in Division One. He has batted as high as four and low as nine.

Should England need a new captain, it likely means Stokes will not be in the side, which could leave room for Pope to potentially come in lower than the three he regularly batted for the nation in the past.

It is worth noting that Pope has also stepped in as Test captain when Ben Stokes has not featured in the side.

With Pope finding form, a potential move around in the batting order could see him return to the side. However it feels unlikely that even if England were to recall him to the squad, he would return as captain immediately.

James Anderson

Saving arguably the most outlandish until last - Lancashire’s 43-year-old captain and bowler. 

Anderson appeared to be somewhat forced into England retirement earlier than he would have liked, but that hasn’t stopped him from running in for his boyhood club.

This list has only looked at batters, so perhaps it is important to mention a bowler who can lead the side and what better bowler than England’s greatest, who has taken 704 Test wickets for his country.

He is proving that he still has the quality at his age, with a staggering 31 wickets at an average of 16.93 in Division Two of the County Championship, which has caught the eye of many at the start of the season.

It would be something of a fairytale for English fans to see the great wear those English whites again, but it seems unlikely that Rob Key and the likes would go back on what they did.

However, taking orders from a man like Jimmy Anderson could be just what England players need to disrupt this ongoing pattern of nightlife controversies.