Former England assistant coach Paul Farbrace believes Ben Stokes and Stuart Broad are the "only two options" to replace Joe Root as Test captain.
Under Root's leadership, England have won just one of their last 17 Test matches and he has faced calls to step down as captain. However, there is a distinct lack of options to replace him given England's recent struggles in Test cricket mean very few players are guaranteed a regular starting spot.
Current vice-captain Stokes is the obvious option to take over from Root, while Farbrace also believes Broad, who captained England's T20 side between 2011 and 2014, is a "good option". Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Farbrace said: "He [Root] is still England's best player but we've got to a stage where we probably need to say 'come on, we need someone'.
"When he gets home he may think very differently about this. We may have to go short term and someone like Broad may be a good option for 12 months to get England winning again.
"What we can't have is picking a player just to be a captain - we can't go back to those bad old days. It has to be someone that is worth their place and someone who is going to consistently play in the next 12 months, that is why Stokes and Broad are the only two options."
Although Stokes is the most likely replacement for Root, the all-rounder has previously said he has "never really had an ambition to be a captain". James Anderson has also questioned whether Stokes would want the job, telling 5 Live : "He's thoroughly enjoyed his role as vice captain and there have been moments in his vice captaincy where he's had to captain the team.
"In Adelaide when Joe Root got hit in the 'midriff' in the nets in the morning he missed the first hour of that day's play so Ben took charge and he thoroughly enjoyed it and he was great.
"He thinks about the game a lot and although he comes across as a player who plays on instinct and he's a match winner, he does think about the game a lot and tactically he's pretty good. But whether he wants it or not I'm not sure.
"He's someone who plays all forms of cricket, he plays the IPL and there's a lot of cricket in a year for him so to put the England captaincy on that as well... I'm not saying it wouldn't be possible but it'd just be a lot on his plate."
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