Vice-captain Stokes is not automatically England's skipper in Root's absence

London [UK], Feb.16 (ANI): England's newly appointed vice-captain Ben Stokes has been warned that he will not necessarily lead the Test side in Joe Root's absence. Root and Stokes, both were last week appointed at England new captain and vice-captain following Alastair Cook's resignation. Andrew Strauss, Director of England cricket, has named all-rounder Stokes as Root's deputy because of the perfect qualities he brings to the role, such as loyalty, passion, commitment and a willingness to get in the faces of the opposition. However, Strauss has clarified that while Stokes is "the perfect man" for the role of vice-captain to Root, "that doesn't necessarily mean Ben is going to be a shoo-in to be England captain at some stage in the future." "The way we've approached this is we've said: 'What do we need in a vice-captain? And what will complement Joe as captain as well as possible?'," ESPNcricinfo quoted Strauss as saying. "Ben Stokes is far and away the best candidate to do that. He's developing fantastically quickly. So as second in charge, he's the perfect man for that role at the moment." "I don't think it would be right for me to say that, in absolutely every circumstance, Ben would definitely take over from Joe," he added. The Durham all-rounder has even less captaincy experience than Root. While Right-handed Root has led in four first-class games, Stokes had not led in any first-class or limited-overs matches for Durham or England and only has skippered Durham junior sides on three occasions (two for the Academy and one for their U17s). (ANI)