“It’s a very proud moment for me and everyone who’s played a part in my career, “says the newly appointed white ball captain Harry Brook. Brook steps into the role of England’s white-ball captain after Jos Buttler decided to step down due to a disappointing Champions Trophy, with England losing three games in the group stages.
Director of Men’s cricket, Rob Key, praised Brook for his excellent cricket brain on and off the field. Even though this decision comes early in his career, he believes that under his leadership, the team will secure more wins. “Harry is not only an outstanding cricketer but also has an excellent cricketing brain and a clear vision for both teams that will help drive us towards winning more series, World Cups, and major global tournaments.”
The 26-year-old will head the one-day international and T20 tournaments. His first game in charge will be at the end of May in a home series against the West Indies, featuring three ODIs and three T20s.
Brook was due to play in this year’s Indian Premier League, but Key is now considering other options as Brook has a tight schedule and has a lot on his hands. England’s goal for this year is to win against India at home and deliver an excellent performance in the Ashes tournament in Australia in winter.
When asked about what happened during the Champions trophy and what needs to change, Brook said there was a lot of pressure from outside, which ended up affecting them individually, and moving forward as a group it would be best to block the outside noise and focus on the work at hand and that’s winning, “I would find myself coming across things that I didn’t want to see, and I think as a group we can try and keep the outside noise to a minimum, “said Harry Brook in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports
Brook also added that being captain was never part of his plan; his role as vice-captain for the past year in the ODI and T20 formats laid a foundation for him, where he showed his leadership skills, dedication to the game, and to his country. “Playing for your country is a dream come true. At the age of 10 years old, you have always dreamed of playing for your country.”
The white-ball team has struggled to win since the 2022 T20 World Cup. Their disappointing performance in the 2023 World Cup in India and the 2024 T20 in the Caribbean led to the sacking of coach Matthew Mott. Brendan McCullum, who is also the test coach, started his role as white-ball coach in January 2025. Brook said working alongside Brendon would be amazing, as they have a great relationship. They are committed to achieving good results and will give other teams a run for their money “ We’re going to be aggressive , we’re going to be 100% committed to what we’re trying to achieve , We’re going to try and be competitive and I think from the batting side of things we’re going to try pick players that can naturally put the best ballers in the world under pressure “
