In the end, it was always going to be one man. On Thursday, Ben Stokes was officially confirmed as England’s new Test captain.
The reasons are many, not all of them compelling, not all of them complimentary. Each soul invested in English cricket, be they employer, employee, admirer or voyeur will take their pick from the selection of motivations: that he was the most qualified, that there were no other options, that he is a natural leader, that a group devoid of direction need someone who, for better and worse, does not take a step back.
