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With Stokes in strife again, time is right to evaluate England’s cricket captains since 1979

England captains from Mike Brearley to Ben Stokes are put under the microscope in a Vic Marks book reviewed by Eric Brown…

Ben Stokes and Joe Root, pictured during the fifth Ashes Test between Australia and England at Sydney Cricket Ground on January 5, 2026. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

BY ERIC BROWN

When Vic Marks sat down to write a book on cricket captains of England over the last 46 years, he could have had no idea how topical it would be when it hit the bookshops.

The book follows on from Alan Gibson’s highly acclaimed tome on England’s captains from 1877 to 1979, bringing the theme up to 2025.

Former Somerset and England spinner Marks is an ideal choice for the task, as he played under four of his subject captains and followed the fortunes of many others from press and radio commentary boxes. Gibson’s purple prose left us with Geoff Boycott interrupting Mike Brearley’s successful reign, and left readers wanting more.

Gibson’s range may have covered 102 years, but the 46 covered by Marks have surely witnessed more change in cricket and society. There are giant characters like Ian Botham, David Gower, Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen to write about. All were involved in controversy.

Taking of controversy, the story is book-ended by one of the greatest to concern an England captain for years. Marks spanned the spell from Brearley to Ben Stokes, whose own reign is currently under threat.

Stokes is no stranger to misdemeanours, having been sent home from an England under-19 tour for disciplinary reasons. Later, he broke bones in a hand punching a door in frustration, and an infamous brawl outside a Bristol nightclub led to him facing affray charges, of which he was acquitted.

The Stokes-led winter 2025-2026 tour to Australia prompted allegations of poor management, player drunkenness and flare-ups. Test vice-captain Harry Brook was fined and warned following an altercation with a nightclub doorman.

Against this unruly background, management formulated a new code of conduct introducing a midnight curfew for players to be back in their hotels.

It didn’t take long for this to be broken. After the first Test victory over New Zealand, players embarked on a London pub crawl, and some ended up in a nightclub until well beyond midnight. As a result, Stokes and opening bowler Gus Atkinson were not considered for the second Test. Stokes’ captaincy reverted to Joe Root, who had resigned in 2022.

Whether Stokes ever captains England again or indeed is ever selected again is, as I write, still under review. As one of those involved in drawing up the new disciplinary code, he can hardly complain now.

He was expected to set a behavioural example after the chaotic Australian tour resulted in the loss of The Ashes in just 11 playing days. What happens next will surely form the basis of the next written update on England captains.

Marks clearly found following on after Gibson’s superb captaincy review a daunting task, likening it to going out to bat for Somerset after Viv Richards and Ian Botham.

He need not have worried. The former Observer and Guardian cricket correspondent’s own high-quality writing, punctuated with anecdotes and insight, has created a worthy successor to Gibson’s classic.

‘The Cricket Captains of England 1979 to 2025’ by Vic Marks is published by Fairfield Books, price £20.

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