England boss Rob Key says “it would be stupid” to rule Test captain Ben Stokes out of consideration for the role of skipper of the struggling white-ball team.
Jos Buttler stood down last week following a poor display by the side at the ongoing 50-over Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the UAE, where his team lost all three of their group games.
England have now suffered 10 defeats in 11 white-ball fixtures this year.
Vice-captain Harry Brook had appeared to be the heir apparent to Buttler but he is likely to be a mainstay in all three international formats, meaning a formidable workload.
Key, ECB managing director for men’s cricket, is considering his options, which include expanding Stokes’ remit.
The 33-year-old Durham all-rounder has proved himself an inspirational captain since succeeding Joe Root as Test skipper.
But his age and injury problems mean he has largely operated as a Test specialist for 16 months.
Appointing Stokes as limited-overs captain would mean extending his “Bazball” alliance with Brendon McCullum, now the coach of England’s white-ball teams as well as being in charge of the Test side.
“I think nothing’s off the table really,” Key told reporters at Lord’s. “Ben Stokes is one of the best captains I’ve ever seen. It would be stupid not to look at him. It’s just the knock-on effect of what that means.”
Stokes, currently sidelined with a hamstring injury, has not played a T20I since the T20 World Cup final in November 2022, and has not featured in an ODI since the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.
Former England batsman Key acknowledged England’s limited-overs form had declined sharply and their batting had “fallen off a cliff”.
England won the ODI World Cup under the captaincy of Eoin Morgan in 2019 and triumphed at the T20 World Cup under Buttler three years later.
But they have slumped to seventh in the ODI rankings and are third in the T20I rankings.
“We were very poor in the Champions Trophy,” said Key. “But the truth is, we haven’t been particularly good in white-ball cricket, probably since the last era when [retired captain] Eoin Morgan did it.”
England have been criticised for pursuing an ultra-aggressive approach under McCullum, regardless of the match situation, but Key said the former New Zealand captain’s coaching methods were more nuanced.
“It’s not true that the only thing he says is go harder, go harder, go harder,” said Key. “He speaks all the time about soaking up pressure as well.
“And you’ve got to trust that players can make those decisions at the right time.”
Key also warned against assuming England players do not care when they fail.
“Sometimes they’re reckless, sometimes they make the wrong decision at the wrong time,” he said. “But that’s the game, right?
“But it’s not a case that all we think is you go out there and play one way … You’ve got to be able to put bowlers under pressure, and good bowlers under pressure, and you’ve got to be able to soak it up and you’ve got to be able to make that decision at the right time.”
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