Harry Brook is in line to become England’s new T20 captain but remains in a two-horse race with Ben Stokes for the ODI job, Telegraph Sport understands.
Jos Buttler stepped down as England’s white-ball captain at the end of February after almost three years in charge following a calamitous Champions Trophy campaign.
Brook, 26, was Buttler’s vice-captain at the end of his reign and is a key player for England in all three formats. However, he endured a tricky tour of India earlier this year, and struggled in the Champions Trophy in Pakistan. He also withdrew from the Indian Premier League, citing a desire to “fully commit” to England.
It seems increasingly certain that England’s management will turn to Brook as their T20 captain ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup in India, but the ODI job is more open, with Brook and Test captain Stokes both still in contention.
Both men are thought to be open to the role. If Brook – who is still learning the ropes of batting in 50-over cricket – was handed both jobs, he would have a huge workload and responsibility across the three formats.
The management will have to weigh up Stokes’s fitness – he is currently recovering from a second serious hamstring injury in a short period – and the potential impact on his Test team early in a year which includes legacy-defining five-match series against both India and Australia, and his lack of recent white-ball experience; even at domestic level, he did not put himself forward for the Hundred or IPL this year.
While Stokes’s batting has helped England to victory in the 2019 and 2022 World Cups, he has not played an ODI since 2023, or a T20 international since 2022, and has effectively been a Test specialist in recent years.
Former captain Michael Vaughan said the idea was ‘nonsense’ and that it would be ‘selfish’ to put Stokes in such a position.
“He gives absolutely everything, not just when he’s playing for England but when he’s training. He is all or nothing,” Vaughan told the BBC. “In a way, I think it’s quite selfish to even consider him, because he will say yes, because he is Ben Stokes. He will do whatever England ask him to do. Just don’t ask him, just let him be.
“Why put the burden on him to play white-ball cricket? It’s not about putting pressure on him because he deals with pressure better than anybody, but just let him look after his body and get him playing Test cricket for as long as possible.”
However, last month Rob Key, the England managing director, said he would be “stupid” not to consider him to lead the white-ball ...
