Harry Brook has been named as England's new men's white-ball captain.
The appointment comes a month on from Jos Buttler's resignation from the role following England's early exit from the Champions Trophy. England crashed out of the tournament following losses to Australia and Afghanistan in the group stage, and also lost their final match of the competition to South Africa.
Brook has been an integral part of England's white-ball sides since he broke through into both ODI and T20I teams last year. He stood in as captain of the sides last year against Australia when Buttler was out with injury, scoring his first ODI hundred during that series with a spectacular innings in Durham. The 26-year-old was named vice-captain of the white-ball sides ahead of their series in India during the winter, and has previous captaincy experience leading England U19s during the 2018 U19 World Cup.
Brook: Dreamt of captaining England as a kid
Speaking on his appointment, Brook said: "It’s a real honour to be named England’s white-ball captain. Ever since I was a kid playing cricket at Burley in Wharfedale, I dreamed of representing Yorkshire, playing for England, and maybe one day leading the team. To now be given that chance means a great deal to me.
"There’s so much talent in this country, and I’m looking forward to getting started, moving us forward, and working towards winning series, World Cups and major events."
Brook was the bookies' favourite to take on the captaincy after Buttler's resignation. Other rumoured options to take over the captaincy included Ben Stokes, who last played an ODI in the 2023 World Cup and last played a T20I in the 2022 T20 World Cup final, while Joe Root ruled himself out of the race last week.
After holding both World Cups at the same time ahead of the 2023 World Cup, England have rapidly fallen down the pecking order of international white-ball cricket. As well as crashing out of the Champions Trophy, they were knocked out in the semi-finals of the 2024 T20 World Cup in a lacklustre campaign, and finished seventh in the 2023 50-over World Cup.
Brook takes on the sides tasked with improving their results ahead of the T20 World Cup next year. He will need to balance the role alongside being a core part of England's Test side, with five Tests scheduled against India this summer ahead of a winter Ashes series.
Rob Key, managing director of England Men's Cricket said of Brook's appointment: "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.
"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."
England's next white-ball assignment will be in May, when they will play three ODIs and three T20Is against West Indies.
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