New Delhi: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Monday confirmed the appointment of star batter Harry Brook as England’s new captain in ODIs and T20Is. Brook will be succeeding former captain Jos Buttler, who stepped down from his position after England’s poor show in the Champions Trophy 2025 earlier this year.
26-year-old Brook was being groomed as captain by the England team management for the last couple of years, and the batter was part of the team’s leadership group across all formats. A vital cog in England’s batting line-up in all formats, Brook was appointed as the vice-captain in ODIs and T20Is last year and led the team in Buttler’s absence during the ODI series against Australia at home.
Though Brook was an understudy to Buttler and was being prepared for the leadership role, the England think tank also considered asking Ben Stokes to return to ODIs and continue his partnership with head coach Brendon McCullum in white-ball cricket. However, ECB decided to look at the future and have thus handed over the baton to Brook.
“I’m delighted that Harry Brook has accepted the role as England’s white-ball captain across both formats. He’s been part of our succession planning for some time, albeit this opportunity has come slightly earlier than expected,” said Rob Key, ECB’s Director of Cricket.
Brook, who captained England in the ICC U-19 World Cup in 2018, led the senior men’s team for the first time in the five-match ODI series against Australia at home last year. England lost the series 2-3 and failed to impress, but Brook led from the front with 312 runs in 5 matches, including a stupendous knock of an unbeaten 110.
One of the best young batters in the world at present, Brook has done well for England in all three formats ever since making his debut in 2022. He has so far notched up 816 runs in 26 ODIs at an average of 34 and a strike rate of over 100, including 5 fifties and a solitary ton. In T20Is, he has managed 798 runs in 44 matches at a strike rate of over 146 and has shone in Tests with 2281 runs in 24 matches at an average of over 58, including 8 centuries and 10 fifties.
England in desperate need of a turnaround
Brook will have huge shoes to fill in as England are in desperate need of a turnaround after failing to impress in the last three limited-overs ICC events, including the Champions Trophy 2025. ECB appointed McCullum as England’s white-ball coach earlier this year, giving him additional responsibilities on top of his Test coach role.
However, the McCullum-Buttler partnership failed to produce results in white-ball cricket. England lost all three matches in the group stage of the Champions Trophy and failed to qualify for the knockouts. Brook will be hoping to help England spark a turnaround when he takes field in his first series as fulll-time captain against West Indies in May this year.
Star batter Harry Brook has succeeded Jos Buttler as England’s new white-ball captain. Buttler stepped down from captaincy after England’s poor show in the Champions Trophy 2025 earlier this year. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
