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 disastrous 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 and Pakistan earlier this year and withdrew from the Indian Premier League citing a desire to “fully commit” to upcoming England action.
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 skipper 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 – were 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 icy 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.
However last month Rob Key, the England managing director, said England would be “stupid” not to consider him to lead the white-ball teams alongside coach all-format coach Brendon McCullum because of his fine record as Test captain. Since taking over full-time three years ago, Stokes has won 19 Tests, lost 11 and drawn just one, a rain-ruined Ashes meeting at Old Trafford in July 2023.
Stokes is currently recovering from surgery on a hamstring injury suffered on the Test tour of New Zealand in December, the second tear he suffered to the same muscle within five months. He also had surgery on a long-standing knee issue in late 2023.
England’s next white-ball fixtures are in June against West Indies, with three ODIs and three T20s sandwiched between the one-off Test against Zimbabwe in May and the blockbuster five-match series against India that begins on 20 June. Earlier this week, Stokes’s coach at Durham, the Australian Ryan Campbell, said he did not expect him to be fit enough to play a County Championship match before the Zimbabwe Test.
Brook did a fine job as England’s captain when stepping in for the injured Buttler in an ODI series against Australia last September. He is credited by management with a sharp tactical mind and is seen by many as the long-term successor to Stokes as Test captain.
The next global event is a T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka – where England will once again be tested by spin – next spring, before an ODI World Cup in South Africa in autumn 2027. The conclusion of that tournament is when McCullum’s contract, which was extended last year to include the 2027 Ashes, is due to end. Given their Test responsibilities, both Stokes and Brook would need to have their workloads managed by England in some bilateral cricket in order to ensure they are fresh for the biggest events.
Buttler’s time in charge started well, winning the T20 World Cup in 2022, but he oversaw two dismal defences of the ODI (2023) and T20 (2024) titles, then a winless Champions Trophy campaign in Pakistan earlier this year. Initially he was paired with Australian coach Matthew Mott before McCullum was handed the reins in all three formats, with no immediate upturn in results. Across tours of India and Pakistan earlier this year they won just one of 11 matches. Buttler, who has returned to form at the IPL, will continue as a player in the ranks.
Pros and cons of England ODI captaincy contenders
Ben Stokes
Pros: Superb cricketer with a long history of clutch moments in tournaments; relationship with coach McCullum; excellent tactician and leader.
Cons: where to start? Injury record, age (34 in June), potential impact on Test team and Ashes, the fact that he is effectively a red-ball specialist now.
Harry Brook
Pros: the coming man, who has the ability to be a great with the bat in all three formats. Has shown real tactical acumen when offered captaincy opportunities.
Cons: as a three-format star, has a lot on his plate at a crucial moment in his development and would not be able to play every game. Has a poor record in India, where the next T20 World Cup is.
