London: Speedster James Anderson has been named as England’s Test vice-captain in absence of Ben Stokes, who will miss the series in wake of Bristol street brawl incident.
He will be taking over the post for the upcoming Ashes series, reported the Guardian.
Anderson holds the record of most wickets for England in both One Day International (ODI) and Test cricket.
The 35-year-old, earlier, said he is open to the position and insisted that he has long held a leadership role within the team with support from former skipper Alastair Cook and fast bowler Stuart Broad.
Anderson, England’s all-time leading wicket-taker with 506 in 129 Tests, will look to add experience to the team, which is already on setback as some of the key players are missing from the squad due to injuries.
The team are already missing Stokes, Mark Wood (heel) and Toby Roland-Jones (back), and their fast-bowling stocks are being stretched.
A day before, pacer Ja ke Ball sustained an ankle sprain during a tour match against a Cricket Australia XI in Adelaide.
Earlier this week, Steven Finn was ruled out of the Ashes series with a knee injury and was replaced by Tom Curran.
Toby Roland-Jones is already absent from the series due to a stress fracture in his lower back.
The Ashes series between England and Australia will begin on November 23.
ANI