Stokes was pictured wrapped up warm on the Durham balcony as his county took on Nottinghamshire in the LV= Insurance County Championship
Ben Stokes cheered on his Durham teammates from the dressing room on Thursday as he received further support to succeed Joe Root as England Test captain.
Stokes was pictured wrapped up warm on the Durham balcony as his county took on Nottinghamshire in the LV= Insurance County Championship.
He continues to recover from a knee injury sustained on the tour of the Caribbean next month, and is not expected to be available to play red-ball cricket for Durham until next month.
That has not stopped him from joining up with his club teammates, however, and he was at the Riverside to watch Durham make 230 in their first innings, before Notts finished day one 50 without loss.
Ben Stokes is pictured on the Durham balcony on Thursday [Stu Forster/Getty Images]
Stokes is expected to succeed Joe Root as captain of the England Test team [Gareth Copley/Getty Images]
Stokes is the hot favourite to take on the England Test captaincy from Root, after the former skipper announced his resignation on Good Friday.
The allrounder has previously led the national side in red and white-ball cricket, and is perhaps the only logical option to pick up the reins.
England's white-ball captain Eoin Morgan has become the latest leading figure in the game to voice his support of Stokes, telling Sky Sports: "Obviously Ben is a fantastic player, a brilliant leader, though he doesn't need to have the captain's armband on to lead like he does.
"The experience of the World Cup final here [at Lord's] really showed his true colours in the way that he led from start to finish - and throughout the whole tournament as well. He'd certainly be a candidate.
New managing director of cricket Rob Key will be involved in the decision over the next England captain [Getty Images]
"I think it would be hard to turn down the captaincy. It's a privileged position to be in. Obviously circumstances have to be right, but most people who want to take red-ball cricket forward would like to take it on."
The decision on the next England skipper is one of several which need to be made by the new managing director of men's cricket, Rob Key.
Key formally started work in the position this week and has been busy contacting players and backroom staff.
He will also need to name a new head coach - or head coaches, given the expectation he will split the roles into red and white-ball responsibilities.
Ottis Gibson, whom The Cricketer understands was encouraged to apply for the head coach position by the interim managing director of cricket Andrew Strauss, is believed to have ruled himself out of the runnings.
Other individuals who would interested the ECB - including Ricky Ponting and Mahela Jayawardene - have also distanced themselves from the role, according to reports in the national press on Friday.
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