England Test captain Joe Root has come under increasing pressure in recent weeks following his side's series defeat to the West Indies.
Under Root's leadership, England have won just one of their last 17 Test matches and failed to win any of their last five series for their first time ever in their history. As a result, he has faced calls to step down, with former England skippers Michael Vaughan, Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton all urging him to quit.
Current vice-captain Ben Stokes is seen by many as the most likely successor but, with Root keen to continue as captain, former England bowler Steve Harmison has claimed there is "no way" Stokes would take the job "if England sack Joe Root". The duo are firm friends and Harmison believes they are simply "too close" for Stokes to contemplate taking the job if Root does not want to give it up.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Harmison said: "I am 90% certain there's no way Ben Stokes would take it if England sack Joe Root. They're too close - Ben is such a loyal man.
"Joe Root has stood by him through a lot of stuff and I don't think for one minute it would be as simple as taking Joe Root out and putting Ben Stokes in." Stokes said earlier this year that he has "never really had an ambition to be a captain" and James Anderson has also suggested Stokes would not want the job.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Anderson said: "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."
Anderson also backed Root to continue as captain, insisting he can "still do a really good job." He added: "If you get the right people in those two jobs above him then he can still do a really good job."
