England vs Pakistan: 'Eoin Morgan's shoes are unbelievably big to fill,' says stand-in skipper Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes, who is set to captain England in the upcoming One-Day International (ODI) series against Pakistan, has admitted that even though Eoin Morgan's shoes are unbelievably big to fill, he is confident his experience as a player will help him get through.

After seven members of the England squad recently tested positive for COVID-19, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced a fresh squad for the three-match ODI series against Pakistan, which is due to begin on Thursday (July 8) in Cardiff. Stokes, who was returning to full fitness by playing for his county side, was named the captain for the series.

"Well, that escalated quickly! To say that I wasn't expecting to be leading England out in a one-day match in Cardiff this week would be a huge understatement. But here we are, and duty calls," Stokes wrote in his column for The Mirror.

"I only packed clothes for three days away from home, so there will need to be a bit of extra washing done, although I hadn't actually received any of my new England one day kit yet so that should all be waiting for me, I hope," the all-rounder added further.

Stokes captained the England Test team last year in the absence of Joe Root but the last time he had led a white-ball team was during a warm-up game ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

"The last time I captained a white ball side was in an IPL warm-up game. So this will be new for me too, but my experience as a player should get me through, even if Morgs' (Eoin Morgan) shoes are unbelievably big to fill!" wrote Stokes, who went on to add that it was amazing to see how a new team was put together so quickly.

"I'm not sure how many countries could lose this many players and still have such quality to choose from at such short notice. We are lucky to have the strength in depth that we have in white-ball cricket, and this is just a fantastic opportunity for these players to show what they can do.

You have to be able to adapt at this level and that is what has been going on over the last 24 hours off the field. It has been amazing how quickly things have been put in place since I got the call late on Monday night," the 30-year-old wrote.

England recently defeated Sri Lanka in both ODI and Twenty20 International (T20I) series, while Pakistan are coming off an away series wins over South Africa and Zimbabwe.