England name James Anderson as vice-captain for the Ashes

Experienced England paceman James Anderson has been named the vice-captain of the visiting team for the Ashes series against Australia. Anderson will now replace former deputy Ben Stokes, who isn’t part of the current squad as police investigations are still on after his brawl outside a Bristol nightclub.

Earlier it was believed that the Three Lions won’t name a vice-captain for the tour, as skipper Joe Root didn’t name one before leaving for Australia.35-year-old Anderson, who is the leading wicket-taker for his country in Tests, is currently on his fourth tour down-under and he got selected over the likes of former skipper Alastair Cook and Stuart Broad, who had earlier led the T20 national side.

Experienced campaigner

Earlier in the week, Anderson said he was a team leader regardless of official rank. “It’s (the vice-captaincy) not something I’ve thought about,” he said. “My responsibility as a senior player is to bring experience to the group. Myself, Alastair and Stuart Broad all (do that).

“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.”

Injury woes

The defending champions have received a major blow as pacer Steve Finn’s name has been added to the casualty list along with Jake Ball. The pacer injured his right ankle in his delivery stride on the second day of England’s tour match against the Cricket Australia XI in Adelaide. Finn was earlier sidelined after suffering torn cartilage in his left knee.

Meanwhile, skilled all-rounder Mooen Ali hasn’t participated in any of the games so far as he is recovering from a side strain. He is expected to be fit for England’s final practice match in Townsville starting on November 15.