Elizabeth Ammon
Ben Stokes looks set to captain
England’s first Test match against West
Indies, with Joe Root expected to leave
the team base in Southampton later
this week for the birth of his second
child.
The strict Covid-19 protocols that
have been put in place mean that Root
will have to self-isolate at home for
seven days after being at the hospital
for the birth before he is allowed to
return to the biosecure bubble.
That means it is unlikely he would be
available for the start of the first Test at
the Ageas Bowl a week on Wednesday
but he is expected to rejoin the squad
for the second Test at Emirates Old
Trafford the week after.
It would be Stokes’s first match as
England captain and he has not led any
team since the Durham academy in
2008, although he has stood in for Root
when he has been off the field.
Stokes was stripped of the England
vice-captaincy after a fight outside a
Bristol nightclub in September 2017 for
which he was found not guilty of affray
in August 2018.
But he returned to the role for the
Ashes last year after pleading his case to
Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive.
“Of the punishments I’d received in the
aftermath of the Bristol incident, losing
the Test vice-captaincy was the one that
hurt the most,” Stokes wrote in his
autobiography last year.
Root, who already has one child with
his wife, Carrie, has not missed a Test
for England since he was dropped for
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STITCH ANALYST1 Altercation had by society girl (6)
4 Write to head of MI 6 about
betrayer (3-5)
10 One always fuming Brit looms
nastily ( 9 )
11 Revolutionary source of light, son
cries ( 5 )
12 A guard holding case of
ammunition up (2,2,3)
13 Attempt to seduce? One might
with item from Ann Summers?
(3,2,2)
14 Letter has half of them worried in
recession ( 5 )
15 Acts as guide abroad, they say ( 8 )
18 Brainy brother drinking rye? The
opposite (8)
20 Leader of armed mob almost
seizing city in battle (5)
23 Ducks outside range freely, finding
something smelling nice ( 7 )
25 What dog may do to welcome
garden visitor? ( 7 )
26 Jack’s approval, quietly overlooked
( 5 )
27 Complaint of students backing
coup ( 9 )
28 Study agreements society put
forward ( 8 )
29 Model prisoner first of those
getting out of nick ( 6 )1 The horror of one’s experience
under duke (8)
2 Anger in local leading to assault (7)
3 Leaving old city, fever becomes
mild ( 9 )
5 Exposing evil action of a referee?
(7-7)
6 Fat man I married needs new top
( 5 )
7 Cop, second one in Paris Match (7)
8 Rebellion? Reluctantly at first I
reveal all ( 6 )
9 Wait, as groom may have to do?
(4,4,6)
16 Killing earl’s thug arranged ( 9 )
17 Dog on the tracks? It’s mine ( 8 )
19 Solitary Europeans possessing
authority ( 7 )
21 Atlas so useless, leaving one
perplexed (2,1,4)
22 Swap tips on highly charged little
Dickensian? ( 6 )
24 Reread EP Thompson? Some of it’s
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K Stoner, Plymouth, Devon2GM Monday June 29 2020 | the timesSp ort
Why I expect club cricket
to return in July after all
Page 50Mike Ather ton
Stokes to step
up as captain
for first Test
the fifth Ashes Test against Australia in
Sydney in January 2014 — a run of 77
consecutive appearances beaten only
by Alastair Cook’s 159 for England.
This month Root backed Stokes as a
“fantastic” stand-in. “One of his great
qualities as a leader is that he sets the
example,” he said. “He drags people
with him and gets the best out of the
players around him. He’ll have people
wanting to play for him and short-term
he’d be a huge success.”
Stuart Broad added his support for
Stokes yesterday. “He has got a really
good cricket brain, and has grown and
matured incredibly over the last three
or four years,” the England fast bowler
said. “To come in and captain one
game, I think he’ll find that very easy.
“He’s taking over Rooty’s team to
make on-field decisions, so I don’t think
he’ll struggle in any aspects.
“One thing we have to do is to make
sure he uses his own ability as well.”
If Root does miss the first Test, it will
open up a spot at No 4. England are
expected to choose three of Dominic
Sibley, Zak Crawley, Rory Burns and
Joe Denly for the top three, but all four
could be chosen for the first Test.
The alternatives would be to play a
debutant such as Dan Lawrence, the
Essex batsman, or move Ollie Pope up
the order and bring in another
middle-order player such as Jonny
Bairstow.
England are due to play an intra-
squad warm-up game starting on
Wednesday and Root is therefore likely
to miss some or all of that.
Club cricket set to return, page 50Root likely to be absent due to birth of his child
City jump into last four
SHAUN BOTTERILL/REUTERSNo virus cover
for Wimbledon
Martyn Ziegler Chief Sports ReporterWimbledon organisers have admitted
that they will not be able to secure
pandemic insurance cover for next
year’s event after making a claim for
potentially more than £100 million to
cover the losses arising from this year’s
cancellation.
The tournament, which had been
due to start today, was the only top
sports event in Britain that had pan-
demic insurance, but Richard Lewis,
the outgoing chief executive of the All
England Club, said the same cover
would not be available if coronavirus
caused the same disruption next year.
The US Open is scheduled to take
place behind closed doors in August but
the All England Club has insisted the
decision to cancel Wimbledon was the
right move, though a “painful one”.
Organisers paid about £1.5 million a
Continued on page 53Watford trio
in party probe
Molly HudsonAndre Gray and two Watford team-
mates were left out of the squad for
yesterday’s Premier League 3-1 home
defeat by Southampton as the club
investigated claims that they attended
a birthday party for Gray on Friday.
Gray, Nathaniel Chalobah and
Domingos Quina were accused of
attending the party in an apparent
breach of public lockdown guidelines
and of the specific protocols for
footballers that they should minimise
contact with anyone not from their
football club or household.
It is alleged that Gray, who was 29 on
Friday, hosted a birthday party at his
home attended by about 20 people,
including his team-mates. The trio
were told to stay away from the rest of
the squad while the club investigate.
Full story, The Game, page 10Raheem Sterling celebrates scoring in Manchester City’s
2-0 FA Cup win over Newcastle. They now play Arsenal in
the semi-finals, while Chelsea play Manchester United. The Game, pages 2-7