Stuart Broad has played down the likelihood of him succeeding Joe Root as England’s Test captain.
Root stood down from the role after five years at the helm, a period that saw him captain England in more matches, to more wins and to more defeats than any of his predecessors.
It remains uncertain who will replace Root as skipper of the Test side, with Ben Stokes the obvious choice simply because he is certain to be picked when fit.
Broad, who has captained England’s T20 and one-day international sides in the past, has also been touted as a potential option but in his column for the Mail on Sunday revealed that it was not something he had been considering.
“Naturally, I am aware that my name has been touted as a potential successor to Joe as England captain and I guess that is because I am an experienced centrally contracted player who has been around the international game a long time,” Broad said.
“However, it is not something I have given any thought to because firstly I am not currently in possession of a shirt within the England Test team and my focus is very much on changing that by taking wickets for Nottinghamshire over the next few weeks.
“In fact, I would argue we are in a fairly unique position as far as selection for the Test team goes right now in that there are only two players whose names you could write in pen on the scorecard.
“One of them is Joe Root, the other is Ben Stokes - and one of them isn’t going to be captain for the first Test of the summer against New Zealand at Lord’s on June 2 because he has just given the job away.”
Despite an incredible period with the bat, it was a tough final year as captain for Root. England have won just one of their last 17 Test matches, falling to five straight series defeats.
That includes a miserable Ashes tour that ended with a 4-0 drubbing, but Broad insists his teammate should be proud of how he led the side in recent years.
Broad said: “I can hear teammates saying: ‘He’s a legend.’
“That’s quite a rare feat to achieve in the world of sport because success and popularity do not go hand in hand and I can say with confidence that not everyone I’ve played with would be complimentary about me.
“Beyond the dressing room, Joe has been an amazing ambassador for the game of cricket. The best, I would suggest, that we’ve had.”
