Ben Stokes worried about Joe Root on his return as England Test captain

Former England captain Ben Stokes has expressed his apprehensions regarding Joe Root’s return as the captain of the Test team, following his retirement. Stokes hung up his boots during the third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.

As a result, Root has been handed the captaincy duties while Stephen Fleming has been appointed as the new head coach of the Test team after Brendon McCullum was sacked. Commenting on Root’s appointment, Ben Stokes wished him well.

"I love Rooty, I wish him nothing but success. I hope he goes on and achieves amazing things in his role as captain. I think he's going to really enjoy Flem, he's a great man. I've worked with Flem before. But I told Joe, my only worry is you. And that's all I really care about now with Rooty, just because I've seen what he went through and how much he put himself through,” said Stokes on the latest episode of the For The Love Of Cricket podcast with Jos Buttler and Stuart Broad.

Stokes also mentioned Root’s struggles with captaincy during his last stint at the helm and feared that they might return.

“For someone, he just always puts the team first and he always comes second. That's my only concern with it, knowing what he went through last time he was in charge of the team. Because I don't want to see that ever happen again because I care for Joe a lot,” he added.

Stokes also questioned the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for not elevating Harry Brook to captaincy, despite him being the vice-captain of the side.

"If you think someone's going to be a good captain or a good leader, then just give it to them even if… Brooky, made vice-captain, I'm not there anymore, but even when I missed that test match, I was like, 'Why is Brooky not [leading]… like, he's vice-captain?!' I understood the reasoning why they were saying it, but I was still like, 'Well, what message is that sending to him? He's vice-captain and then the captain is not playing, but he's not captain.' And then the same again here [with the full-time job],” said Stokes.

Stokes on England's drinking problem

The former England captain also remained firm on his stance, once again denying any drinking problem within the England side, a question that plagued their embarrassing 1-4 defeat in the Ashes 2025-26.

"God, that's such an extreme thing to put on a team. I think cricket has just a drinking culture and it hasn't changed. We're in… 2026, where the game has gone more professional over the years. And one thing that I think has just stayed within cricket is its relationship with alcohol, from club cricket and then works its way up. It's just stayed there, and it's been embedded within the sport. So for people who think that the English cricket team has a drinking culture, I'd say no. I would just say cricket has culture that is associated with alcohol,” said Stokes.

Stokes also expressed his desire to coach England one day and is already doing his ECB Level Three coaching badge course over the last 18 months, alongside his other playing commitments.

"I want to be a coach. I know what I want to do within staying in the game, which is to be a coach. Would I love to be coach of England one day? Absolutely, I'd love to do that. Do I think it's going to happen? I don't know. No idea," he said.

Following his retirement, Stokes has been playing for Durham and even slammed a century in his first outing after his farewell Test during a One-Day Cup game against Derbyshire. He followed it up with an unbeaten 73* (51) against Sussex.