James Anderson says Joe Root is the "obvious candidate" to succeed Alastair Cook as England Test captain.
Cook stood down as Test skipper on Monday after four and a half years in the role. Root, Cook's vice-captain, has been widely tipped to be his successor.
Anderson, England's leading Test wicket-taker, believes Root is next in line to take charge and even went as far as calling the Yorkshire batsman England's "best player".
Anderson, who has 467 Test wickets to his name, told BBC Radio 5 Live's Tuffers and Vaughan Show: "He's the obvious candidate, I would say. The decision is a big one because he's our best player, so you obviously don't want that to be affected.
"He's quiet but he has got that fire in his belly. You can see that when he goes out to bat. He gets into situations - one-on-ones - with people. He's fiery, he does speak. He speaks a lot of sense when he does speak and he's a really impressive young man."
Anderson's claim was backed by two former England captains: Paul Collingwood and Michael Vaughan.
Collingwood, who led England to the 2010 World Twenty20 title, denied giving Root the captaincy now, aged 26, would be a gamble.
"It's not a gamble at all. You've got a guy in the dressing room who can manage players. He seems to be able to get on with every single player in that dressing room," Collingwood said.
"He's got a good tactical brain. I think he will take risks in terms of the tactical side of things and I think he's ready.
"I honestly think he's ready for this job. His form, the way that his batting is, his technique, the way that he's quite humorous in the dressing room. He ticks all the right boxes to do a fantastic job."
Vaughan, who oversaw England's famous 2005 Ashes triumph, said: "You need respect. Has he got it? Absolutely. Does he hold his place in the side? Absolutely. Is he obsessed with the game? Yes. I think that's very important. Leading the team, you've got to be obsessed."
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