Broad plays down captaincy talk as Key gets top job

Rob Key has promised to give everything he has to shaping the next great era of English men's cricket after being appointed as new managing director of the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Joe Root was the latest of a series of resignations when he announced his decision to retire as England captain on Friday following a disastrous 12 months of Test cricket, including a 4-0 defeat in the Ashes.

The 31-year-old's decision expanded a power vacuum at the ECB, with head coach Chris Silverwood, batting coach Graham Thorpe and former managing director of England men's cricket Ashley Giles losing their jobs over three successive days in February.

One of Key's first challenges will be to appoint a successor to Root, with Ben Stokes the favourite to take the role as one of few players guaranteed to be in the Test team.

The chances of Stokes taking the top job increased on Sunday when veteran seamer Stuart Broad seemingly ruled himself out of the role having been dropped during the Ashes and the recent tour of the Caribbean.

"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," Broad wrote in his column for The Daily Mail.

"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."

Key had been a surprise contender for the director of cricket role, which was openly advertised on the ECB website, having primarily worked as a commentator and pundit since his retirement from county cricket with Kent in 2015, and he will give up his current broadcasting role to take the reins.

"It is an absolute honour to take up this role," he said on Sunday after his appointment was announced.

"The chance to have an impact and make a difference is an opportunity given to very few and I will give it everything I have to try shape the next great era of English men's cricket.

"Although at this current moment it has been a challenging time in English cricket, I also think it's as exciting a time as I can remember.

"With two of our teams near or at the top of the world rankings and an undoubted amount of talent in our game, I hope to try and bring everyone along for the ride so we can all help take English men's cricket to new heights across all formats."

Key will be responsible for the strategy and performance of the England men's cricket team.

As a player, Key played 15 Tests for England between 2002 and 2005, as well as five one-day internationals and one Twenty20 international. He scored a Test double century against the West Indies at Lord's in 2004.