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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Will Macpherson

Rob Key: Joe Root replacement among priorities for England’s new managing director with Ben Stokes favourite

Rob Key has started his new role as England’s managing director of men’s cricket, with his early priorities finding a replacement for Joe Root as Test captain.

Key takes over the role vacated by Ashley Giles in January with a building to-do list before the First Test against New Zealand at Lord’s on June 2.

It is likely that Key will appoint a new captain before a head coach — a role that will probably be split along red- and white-ball lines — is in place, because the field is narrower and the process simpler.

Ben Stokes is the favourite to succeed Root, who resigned on Friday. In his former life as a pundit, Key has said he believes Stokes would make a good captain, but there is no need to rush a decision, instead talking to players around the country before making an appointment.

Stokes has had a tumultuous few years, including taking four months out last year to manage an injury and his mental health. He already has plenty on his plate as an all-format all-rounder.

Stokes is the favourite on the basis that he has a reputation as a leader, and that most other candidates are felt to be outside the current XI.

Key must decide on the structure of his coaching team, but has previously indicated a preference for an independent selector, a role Giles made redundant last year when dismissing Ed Smith. That handed all responsibility to Chris Silverwood, the head coach who was fired in the wake of the Ashes.

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