England all-rounder Ben Stokes has been confirmed by England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Tuesday to lead his side in the West Indies Test series opener at the Ageas Bowl on July 8 as regular-captain Joe Root will miss the clash.
Root is expected to leave the training camp in Southampton on Wednesday afternoon to be with his wife Carrie as the couple are expecting their second child later this week. Root will hence miss the intra-squad warm-up game which will begin from Wednesday onwards.
Root will later begin a seven-day self-isolation process at home after returning from the hospital with his family and join the England squad ahead of the second Test at the Old Trafford on Monday, July 13.
In Root's absence, Stokes will lead the side against Jason Holder's men and Jos Buttler will assume vice-captaincy duties.
Earlier on Monday, Stokes admitted that he is yet to dive into the whole idea of captaincy, he does consider it a huge honour.
"I haven't really dived into it yet," Stokes said during a virtual press conference. "For me, at the moment it's all about preparing and getting to the level I want to be two to three days out before the first Test match starts. But I know, because we've got such a big squad at the moment that there's so many players that you've got to keep your eye on. Because we're in split training at the moment it's tough to be able to see everybody.
"I haven't fully dived into the whole idea yet, on purpose. I'm just waiting for the right time to do that. It's still a long way off, so when it gets a little bit closer and it's 100 per cent confirmed I will be in charge, I'm sure the mindset will change."
