Joe Root the frontrunner to step in as England Test captain for Pakistan series

• Trott, Dawson and Fleming among contenders for coach

• Trescothick in contention for interim coaching role

Joe Root is the frontrunner to step in as Test captain for the Pakistan series next month as the process of appointing England’s next men’s red-ball coach grows ever more complicated.

The England & Wales Cricket Board is juggling three shortlists, just over three weeks before the squad assembles for the first of three games against Pakistan. The first is of potential appointments as permanent coach, the second of plausible interims should the process of whittling down the first still be ongoing when the series begins. In the latter case, there would be a third decision to be made over who should captain the side until the coaching question is settled and the most likely option would be Root to step in, just as he did for the recent Test against New Zealand at the Oval when Ben Stokes was in effect suspended for breaking a team curfew.