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James Benge13 February 2017

Joe Root has been named Alastair Cook’s successor as England Test cricket captain.

The 26-year-old Yorkshire batsman had long been the presumptive heir to Cook, who resigned on February 6 after four-and-a-half years in command. Ben Stokes also comes in as Root's deputy.

England’s record run scorer and 30-time centurion, Cook will remain a part of the Test team under Root’s leadership.

Root has 54 Test caps for England and has scored 11 centuries and 27 50s. He was named vice-captain before the 2015 Ashes series.

In a statement released on the ECB websitem, Root said: "It is a huge honour to be given the England Test captaincy," said Root. "I feel privileged, humbled and very excited.

“We have a very good group of players and I’m looking forward to leading them out in the summer, building on Alastair’s achievements and making the most of our talents in the years ahead.

“The senior guys in the changing room play a very influential role and whilst there’s a natural progression for me it’s a huge support to know that they are there to help and advise.”

Standard Sport columnist James Taylor said of Root’s potential elevation to the captaincy: “He’s an excellent candidate for the role.

“People should not think there will suddenly be a massive shift in how we approach our cricket as the leadership group will be roughly the same and obviously Alastair will still be a part of that even without the captaincy.”

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