Stokes Should Not Be Pushed Into Captaincy; He Has Enough On The Plate: Gower

SYDNEY, Jan 4: Former England captain David Gower has said that Ben Stokes should not be pushed into the captaincy role as he has "enough on his plate" and hasn't had a great comeback in the ongoing Ashes series in Australia.

With England having lost the Ashes after three successive defeats — Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne — there are calls back home in England to look for Joe Root's alternative to lead the team. With Stokes enjoying a good rapport with team-mates, several former cricketers and critics are demanding the 30-year-old all-rounder be given the reins of the Test side.

Dissecting the England Test team leadership dynamics, Gower said on Tuesday that now is not the time for Stokes to be made captain.

"(Ben Stokes) would make a good fist of it because he's a very instinctive, strong character, and at the moment that's the sort of character this England side needs," Gower told sen.com.au's Sportsday on Tuesday. "Whatever happens in the next two games (Sydney and Hobart), when they go home to the UK and start again, they're going to need to find some new energy from somewhere," said the 64-year-old England great.

On the relationship between Root and Stokes, Gower said that the two were "good mates" and entirely loyal to each other.

Stokes has a high score of 34 from six innings this series and has taken four wickets.

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