Harry Brook: England's new white-ball captain says he hopes to 'keep outside noise to a minimum'

9 April 2025, 09:35 | Updated: 9 April 2025, 17:04

England's new white-ball captain Harry Brook is relishing the challenge of reigniting his side, saying he is hoping to "keep the outside noise to a minimum."

Brook was named successor to Jos Buttler on Monday after the latter stepped down following a disappointing Champions Trophy campaign, where England lost all three games in the group stages.

England have 11 Tests between now and the end of the Ashes in early January and Brook may be obliged to feature in 12 ODIs and 15 T20s to prepare for next year's T20 World Cup, slated to begin in February.

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“I think we can relax a little bit more. There was a lot of pressure on us from the outside that we were letting come inside, and it affected certain players," Brook said.

"I would find myself coming across things I didn’t really want to see. As a group, we can try to keep the outside noise to a minimum.

"It's obviously a very proud moment for me and everyone who has played a part in my career, I'm looking forward to what is going to come in the future. It was all up in the air for a little while, as everyone knows, I found out last week.

"Keysy [Rob Key, managing director of England men's cricket] and Baz [Brendon McCullum, England's head coach] both rang me up, and when they told me the news, I took it with open arms. I’m looking forward to what the future holds."

Brook' first games in charge come at the end of May with a home series against West Indies, featuring three ODIs and three T20s - live on Sky Sports Cricket.

The 26-year-old acknowledged Buttler had a tough time with the captaincy towards the end of his rein due to the packed cricket schedule.

“Jos has had a tough time with it, he hasn’t had the schedule or the players he would’ve liked throughout. The schedule hasn't really allowed for that," Brook added.

"Hopefully, this schedule moving forward can allow us to have most of our best players and pick the best team as possible. That might be out of my control, but we will try for sure."

Brook: Captaincy wasn't initially on the cards

Brook has spent the past year as vice-captain in both the ODI and T20 formats and also served as the skipper during The Hundred last year for Northern Superchargers.

Despite this, Brook said captaincy had not initially been part of his ambitions, but he is excited to get going.

The Yorkshireman also outlined what he is looking for from bowlers and batters as he looks to get England back to winning ways.

"I try and pick players that can naturally put the best bowlers up in the world under pressure from their best balls and the worst balls," Brook said.

"I want people who can manipulate the field at certain stages in the game, and those who can score big runs and make really good match-winning contributions to games.

"I want bowlers that can work towards modes of dismissal, figure out ways to get batters out, and I want them to be able to bowl to a certain field at different stages in the game.

"I think you've got to have a certain amount of skills to be able to bowl in white ball cricket. That's the kind of ethos that we're going to go with."

Franchise cricket to take backseat as Brook takes over

Brook intends to continues to limit his availability on the T20 franchise circuit as he juggles the demands of being an all-format England regular with the white-ball captaincy.

He forfeited a £590,000 deal with Delhi Capitals in the ongoing Indian Premier League to prioritise playing for England, having also decided to pull out last year owing to the death of his grandmother.

Under new tournament rules, Brook seems set to be ineligible for the IPL until 2027, but he admitted he has plenty on his plate and does not regret opting for a breather after a hectic past few months.

"There's a lot of cricket coming up," he said.

"Having this period after deciding to pull out of the IPL was the right decision for me.

"It wasn't an easy decision, obviously, but I've got to try and manage my workload. I've played a hell of a lot of cricket over the last year and a half and it's only going to be more going forward.

"I'm not sure how much franchise cricket I'll be playing in the near future but my priority is definitely playing for England and trying to play as much cricket for England as I can."

England's upcoming T20 and ODI fixtures

All games are live on Sky Sports

One-day international series at home to West Indies (May-June)

• First ODI: Thursday May 29 (1pm) - Edgbaston, Birmingham
• Second ODI: Sunday June 1 (11am) - Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
• Third ODI: Tuesday June 3 (1pm) - The Kia Oval, London

T20 international series at home to West Indies (June)

• First T20: Friday June 6 (6.30pm) - Seat Unique Riverside, Chester-le-Street
• Second T20: Sunday June 8 (2.30pm) - Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol
• Third T20: Tuesday June 10 (6.30pm) - Utilita Bowl, Southampton

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