England’s premier fast bowler James Anderson will be donning the duties of the vice-captain of the side for the upcoming Ashes series down under. He will replace Ben Stokes who is still under investigation by the police for his involvement in a brawl in Bristol last month.
Stokes hasn’t traveled with the English side to Australia and his participation is still uncertain and depends on the reports of the investigation. Previously, it was believed that no subordinate to the skipper Joe Root will be announced but now, Anderson has been appointed as the vice-captain leaving behind the other experienced players like Alastair Cook and Stuart Broad.
Even though the announcement has been made now but the 35-year-old had earlier admitted that being a senior player of the team, he was a leader regardless of the rank. “It’s (the vice-captaincy) not something I’ve thought about,” he said. “My responsibility as a senior player is to bring experience to the group. Myself, Alastair and Stuart Broad all (do that). There are a lot of players on this tour who have not played in an Ashes series before, and not toured Australia before. So our job is to try and help as much as we can.”
An inexperienced English side
The Three Lions have a relatively inexperienced side with a lot of players playing the all-important Ashes for the first time. Joe Root is also relatively new in the captaincy role and will lead the side for the first time in the prestigious bilateral Test series. This way, Anderson’s guidance will be of extreme importance.
James Anderson is the leading wicket-taker for England and it’s the 4th time he has traveled to Australia for the Ashes. Despite the age, he is still the leader of the bowling attack and his experience will shape the game of the other bowlers in the side too.
