Stuart Broad has offered his support for teammate Joe Root to take over from Alastair Cook as the next captain of England.

The 30-year-old is himself understood to be in the running to take on the role - which has been vacant since Cook stepped down last week - along with Root and Ben Stokes.

Broad admits that he would struggle to say no to the job if offered it by the England and Wales Cricket Board, but believes that Root is the man best placed to now step forward due to his age and ability.

"I can't imagine a scenario where a professional sportsman would turn down the chance to captain their country if the offer was made, and I'm no different," he told the Daily Mail. "But for me, it feels time for the next generation to be given that responsibility. I'm more than happy to be a strong senior player who helps guide that evolution.

"For me, in the best interests of the team in the medium and long term, I believe a younger modern-day captain is the way to go. Joe Root looks like just the man for the job for me. He's not had a lot of captaincy experience so he will have to learn on the job, but he wouldn't be the first England captain to have to do that.

"The whole point of having a new captain is so they can bring a different type of energy and ideas to the group. Joe is the best player in the team and he's in a position where his game can cope with the pressures of captaining England. He's played all three formats and coped really well and I don't see why that would be affected by the captaincy."

England cricket director Andrew Strauss and chief selector James Whitaker will have the final say on the man to replace Cook, who spent five years as skipper before stepping down.