Harry Brook had barely finished his final nets session before England’s T20 series against India when talk turned – again – to the Test job. A day earlier Ben Stokes, having retired from all international cricket, publicly declared he would give Brook his “100% support” if the selectors asked the Yorkshire right-hander to take the reins.
Little wonder, then, that Brook, already England’s white-ball captain and Test vice-captain, found himself fielding questions about the red-ball role at Chester-le-Street on Tuesday afternoon.
“Look, it would be a great honour to do it,” said Brook. “It’d be a privilege to do it, to captain England in the highest format of our game, and the pinnacle.
“Playing Test cricket is the greatest thing that I’ve ever done in my life, and it’s a dream, and something that I’ve always wanted to do since I could speak. It’s not up to me, that decision, but if I got offered it, then I’d be happy to take it.”
Brook, 27, is viewed by many inside the dressing-room as the natural successor. He has already led age-group sides, deputised for Stokes on the field and, crucially, owns the full backing of Joe Root, who stepped in as caretaker at The Oval when Stokes was stood down after breaching a midnight curfew. Root’s reluctance to reprise the job long-term leaves Brook at the front of a fairly short queue.
The path has hardly been straightforward. Brook’s leadership prospects were cooled last winter when, fresh from a nightclub scuffle in Wellington, management wanted him focusing solely on batting. Rob Key reiterated that stance after Stokes and Gus Atkinson’s late-night slip-up following the first Test against New Zealand this month, opting for the steady hand of Root instead.
Stokes’ retirement changes the equation. England now require not only a new Test captain but, with Stokes averaging 47 and bowling key overs, a reliable No. 5 and, ideally, a fourth seamer. Brook can fill only two of those three jobs, yet his calm presence and straightforward style appeal to head coach Brendon McCullum.
Whether one person should run all three international sides is another matter. Only Andrew Strauss has tried it since the advent of T20, and he lasted a single match in that format. Brook accepts the workload would be heavy.
“I think it is possible,” Brook said, referring to a leadership triple. “I’m not saying it would be easy, but I definitely do think it is possible. The fact I don’t play franchise cricket means there are periods in my calendar when I wouldn’t be playing cricket.
“I’d be focussing on my fitness and getting ready to play all three formats, which has been a dream of mine since I could speak or walk. If I am or I’m not captain for England in Test cricket, I’d happy to just still be playing for England.”
Those gaps in the diary stem from the two-year IPL ban Brook accepted after withdrawing from Delhi Capitals to assume the white-ball captaincy. The punishment, awkward at the time, now leaves him fresher than most leading batsmen. England would still have to juggle his training loads – and possibly pick an additional senior voice on Test tours – but selectors believe the calendar is manageable until at least 2028.
Behind the scenes, Key and ECB chair Richard Thompson are canvassing views from Root, McCullum and performance director Mo Bobat. An announcement is expected after the India T20Is but before the team departs for a one-off Test in Dublin later this summer.
Statistically, Brook’s case is strong. He averages 46.8 after 31 Tests, strikes at 64 and has converted seven of nine fifties into hundreds. Analysts within the set-up argue that leadership tends to elevate players with such profiles rather than burden them.
Tom Moody, the former Australia all-rounder and now a widely respected coach, offered a neutral perspective on Sky Sports: “Brook is tactically aware, calm under pressure and, importantly, respected. Those three boxes matter more than anything else.”
No decision will satisfy every voice. Some would like Stuart Broad coaxed out of retirement for a short caretaker stint; others want Ollie Pope or Zak Crawley given enhanced responsibility. Yet the momentum is with Brook, and Stokes’ endorsement hardly hurts.
For now, Brook’s focus is Thursday evening under lights against an India side boosted by the return of Jasprit Bumrah. He insists talk of captaincy will not intrude on what is essentially a dress-rehearsal for next winter’s Champions Trophy defence.
Still, he knows the question will keep coming until the ECB produces a formal answer. Brook can only repeat the obvious: if the phone rings, he will pick it up.
