Ashley Cole handed captaincy against Republic of Ireland

Ashley Cole of England poses with a shirt to celebrate reaching 100 caps.

Ashley Cole will be captaining England on the Wednesday night’s friendly against Republic of Ireland to solemnize his achievement of a century of caps for his country. England manager Roy Hodgson had earlier said that it would Frank Lampard who would be the captain in the absence of Steven Gerrard, but later it was confirmed that Cole would be the skipper for the night.“He has been a fantastic servant, not just for Arsenal and Chelsea but for England as well,” said Roy Hodgson.

“Frank’s always been the captain in Steve’s absence. I appointed him when I started over a year ago. But in actual fact tomorrow – Frank and I have discussed this – Frank’s happy for Ashley to lead the team onto the field in celebration of his 100th cap, which he’ll receive tomorrow,” said Hodgson.

Ashley Cole is the seventh player to have reached a century of caps and it will be Cole’s 102nd appearance for England on Wednesday at Wembley.

“It’s actually his 102nd appearance. Frank and I are happy that he will lead the team out there but Frank still remains the captain of the team,” added Hodgson.

Source: BBC Sport