Harry Brook as England’s white-ball captain is the correct decision for English cricket, Ben Stokes and Brook himself.
Now I expect Harry to go forward and become the Test captain as well at some point in the near future. We hope Ben goes on to lead England into the 2027 home Ashes but there is a lot of water to go under the bridge before then.
We just do not know how long his body will last and it would have been selfish to ask Stokes to captain England in all formats. He would have said yes as well because he never likes letting England down but he needs to preserve himself for the Test team.
We still see the Test captaincy as the top job in English cricket, rightly or wrongly. And there is no reason why Brook cannot be the first to be full-time captain in all three formats. It could now be a seamless transition between Stokes and Brook.
He is only 26. He looks like he has a carefree personality and goes about his business the way he wants. The best piece of advice I can give Harry is to take something from every leader he has played under but do it his own way. Don’t try to be Eoin Morgan or Stokes. Be Harry Brook.
I don’t worry about the tactical side of things because it is always overplayed. It is more important that the captain is respected and brings energy and clarity to the team. I like the fact that when he captained against Australia last summer his own game was not affected. He averaged 78 and scored one hundred and two fifties in that series and he ticks the first box needed by all captains: he is good enough to get in the first XI.
The white-ball team needs a lot of work. I look at the depth of quality and it is not quite there right now. Morgan developed a team with lots of all-rounders, quality spinners and a side with a deep batting order. I do not see the same quality in this England side. Brook’s challenge is to develop talented players to world-class level. You cannot win a World Cup without world-class players.
They have them in T20 but, at 50 overs, they are a long way short. The 50-over game is so much like Test cricket now and England’s approach has been a little simplistic. They have to embrace data, because it plays a big role in white-ball cricket now and not just think bowling rockets and trying to go harder every time is enough. There needs to be more guile and creativity with the bowling.
The most important aspect is the captain’s relationship with the coach and that should be pretty strong. I’m sure Brendon McCullum will help Brook develop his own style but also be a good ...
