London: With England all-rounder and vice-captain Ben Stokes is currently unavailable in the wake of street brawl incident in Bristol last month, pace spearhead James Anderson has admitted that he is open to take up the role of Joe Root's deputy in the upcoming Ashes series.
England is set to play against Australia in the upcoming Ashes series in absence of the team vice-captain Ben Stokes, who was arrested in Bristol last month after a wild street brawl, which allegedly inflicted bodily harm on a man on September 25.
Though Steven Finn had replaced Stokes in the Test squad, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have not yet ruled him out of the series.
When quizzed if he would decline if asked to fill the vice-captain's role in Stokes' absence, Anderson said that he would never deny the post.
"Of course I wouldn't turn it down.In the last couple of years, I've seen my role in the team as a leader. It's kind of your responsibility to be a leader. It's part and parcel of the job as a senior player having played over 100 Tests," ESPNcricinfo quoted Anderson , as saying.
The 35-year-old, who is currently England's all-time leading wicket-taker with 506 in 129 Tests, insisted that he has long held a leadership role within the team with support from former skipper Alastair Cook and fast bowler Stuart Broad.
"There are a lot of players on this tour who have not played in an Ashes series before and not toured Australia before. So our job is to try and help as much as we can. It's kind of your responsibility to be a leader. With young bowlers coming into the team I've tried to help out as much as I can. I think it's important that Joe has people he can rely upon," Anderson said.
It should be noted that Alastair Cook, Root's predecessor as captain and Stuart Broad, England's T20I captain for brief time, is believed to be the frontrunner for the deputy captain role.
England arrived in Adelaide on Monday for a four-day day-night tour game against a Cricket Australia XI, starting on Wednesday.
The 2017-18 Ashes series will be played at five venues across Australia between 23 November 2017 and 8 January 2018.
