Photo Credit: Instagram Photo of @harry_brook88
Harry Brook will captain England for the first time in the upcoming ODI series against Australia following Jos Buttler‘s ongoing calf injury, team management announced on Sunday.
Buttler has not played since England’s T20 World Cup semi-final loss to India in Guyana in June. He will miss both the three-match T20 series against Australia, which ends on Sunday, and the subsequent five-match ODI series.
Despite having only 15 ODI caps, Brook is viewed as a potential long-term leader. The 25-year-old Yorkshire batsman has previous captaincy experience, having led England’s youth team at the 2018 Under-19 World Cup. He also served as Yorkshire captain for four T20 Blast matches in 2022 and led Northern Superchargers in the Hundred this year, winning five out of six completed matches.
Brook was also vice-captain to Ollie Pope during England’s recent 2-1 Test series win over Sri Lanka.
Brook’s appointment means England will have had a new captain in all three international formats this season. Pope took over as Test captain from Ben Stokes due to Stokes’s hamstring injury, and Phil Salt led the T20 team in Buttler’s absence.
“It’s going to be a great opportunity for Brooky to be the captain,” Buttler told Sky Sports.
“He is a pretty laid-back character, but I think he has everything in line. He is a really good thinker about it… I’m sure he’ll do that his own way, and he’ll get a feel for those moments (in games).”
Buttler, who is targeting a return to England’s squad for their November tour of the Caribbean, commented on his injury recovery: “It’s a bit slower than hoped. I’m going to be missing the ODI series as well, so that’s a shame. But at my age, I’ve just got to make sure I get it right…There’s lots to look forward to in the future.”
Following England’s disappointing defenses of their 50-over and T20 World Cup titles, there were questions about whether Jos Buttler should continue in his roles as captain, wicketkeeper, and opening batsman in white-ball internationals.
On Sunday, Buttler confirmed that he would not have kept wicket in the T20 series, even if he had been fit, after discussions with Brendon McCullum, the incoming limited-overs coach. McCullum, who is also the head coach of England’s Test side and a former New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman, advised this change.
“Having spoken to Baz (McCullum) about it, he stumbled across it with injury preventing him from keeping wicket, but then he really enjoyed being next to the bowler at mid-off,” Buttler said.
He added: “I just want what’s best for the team: what’s best for the team is going to be me being the best captain I can be, and if I have to move from behind the wickets to do that then so be it.”
Josh Hull, the 20-year-old left-arm fast bowler who made his Test debut in the Sri Lanka series finale at the Oval earlier this month, was set to join the 50-over squad but has been sidelined due to a quad injury. He will rest before next month’s trip to Pakistan.
Liam Livingstone, initially omitted from the ODI squad, has been recalled following impressive performances in the ongoing T20 series against Australia, which is currently tied 1-1 ahead of the decisive match in Manchester on Sunday.
The ODI series against Australia, the reigning 50-over World Cup champions, is scheduled to begin at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Thursday.
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