Terry, 25, who skippered Chelsea to a second straight English Premiership title last season, is so far ahead in the betting that some bookmakers have stopped taking bets on the England captaincy.

Beckham, 31, resigned as captain Sunday following England's World Cup ousting by Portugal in a quarterfinal penalty shoot-out, and he struggled to control his emotions in making the announcement.

Bookmaker William Hill have closed the book on the position after 95 percent of the bets they took were placed on battling centre-half Terry, whose never-say-die attitude has made him a fan's favourite at Chelsea.

"We were finding it difficult to make a market because people only wanted to back Terry," William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe told AFP.

"My information is that it's probably his to turn down and you'd be surprised if he did."

Terry was their 1/2 favourite, followed by Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard at 11/4, Frank Lampard and Gary Neville at 8/1 and Rio Ferdinand at 16/1.

Beckham was appointed England captain by caretaker manager Peter Taylor in 2000 and Sven-Goran Eriksson kept him on when he became the England boss.

Terry wore the captain's armband during England's World Cup second round 1-0 win over Ecuador after goalscorer Beckham was substituted.