The England cricket team will fly out to Australia for the Ashes on 28th October, and before the team leaves to contest for the prestigious Urn, Joe Root will deliver a farewell speech at Lord’s on Friday. However, it is now clear that Joe Root will not name a replacement for Ben Stokes as his official vice-captain of the national side.
Stokes is under investigation for causing actual bodily harms to a 27-year-old man outside a bar after England’s win against West Indies in Bristol. Stokes was arrested by the police next day but was released and is still under investigation for the incidence and has been suspended by the ECB for any further selection in international cricket.
ECB has named Steve Finn in the squad. England will travel to Australia on 28th October with the first to begin on 23rd November at Gabba in Brisbane. The ECB has not yet confirmed that Ben Stokes will participate in the series or has he been ruled out entirely. However, Stokes has retained his central contract with the ECB for 2017-18 and will be recalled if the police have taken no further action.
England will play three warm-up games before the start of the first Test at Gabba in Brisbane on 23rd November, and Joe Root is expected to play in all these matches. England will most probably not require a vice-captain until a two-day warm-up match between the second and third Test match. In case of an injury to Root and assuming Stokes is not allowed to play, Alastair Cook would be the preferred choice to fill in. Moeen Ali, Johny Bairstow and Stuart Broad would be the other candidates.
The Australian miseries are also not yet over, the number six spot in the batting lineup is not yet fixed. Four of the candidates for the spot played for Western Australia against Tasmania in Perth. Shaun Marsh and Hilton Cartwright impressed the most as Marsh scored 63 and Cartwright scored 61. Mitchell Marsh who is a firm favourite for the spot scored 36 off 37 deliveries. Marcus Stoinis scored the least out of the four, 9. As for the main Australian bowlers are concerned, only Jackson Bird was in action on the first day, and he picked up two wickets and is expected to be the 12th man in the first Test at Gabba in Brisbane.