Brendon McCullum backs Harry Brook to captain England’s Test team in future

Former England red-ball coach Brendon McCullum believes Harry Brook will eventually captain the Test side despite Joe Root's reappointment following Ben Stokes' retirement. McCullum also praised Stephen Fleming, who will take over as England's full-time Test head coach in December.

London: Former England red-ball head coach Brendon McCullum believes Harry Brook’s time to lead the Test side will come in the future, despite him being overlooked for the top job following Ben Stokes’s retirement from international cricket.

After Stokes stepped down at the conclusion of the home series against New Zealand, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) opted to reappoint veteran batter Joe Root as captain instead of elevating Brook, who served as vice-captain during the series.

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Brook was also passed over when Root briefly filled in after Stokes was suspended for a curfew breach during the second Test at The Oval. McCullum, who remains England’s white-ball coach while Stephen Fleming takes over the Test mantle, backed the explosive batter to eventually take charge of the red-ball side.

“Everyone knows the affection that I have for Harry. He’s a wonderful player and he’s doing a fine job as white-ball leader. I think his time will come in the Test job. I’m looking forward to working with him and hopefully growing and developing him into the leader that he can become.

“At some stage in the future, he will have a very important role in that capacity. But for now, Joe will do an amazing job,” McCullum opined. McCullum told Sky Sports on the sidelines of The Hundred.

McCullum also lavishly praised his fellow countryman Fleming, who will take charge of the red-ball side full-time ahead of the tour of South Africa in December. Marcus Trescothick will serve as interim head coach for the upcoming home series against Pakistan, starting on August 19.

“I had a great time in my four years, but now it’s going in a different direction, I think Flem will be excellent. He’s a little bit like me, but better – that’s how I would sum him up. He’ll do a great job, and the ECB have done incredibly well to get someone like him to commit to English cricket for the period that he has. It’s an outstanding achievement.”

Speaking on his relationship with Fleming, McCullum highlighted their shared vision of driving English cricket forward across all three formats. “We talk pretty much every day, we’re close mates. We’ve done a lot together and he’s one of those guys who I trust completely. We both just want what’s best for English cricket.

“We want to set this up so that English cricket can be successful across all three formats of the game. That is going to take some give and take at times, we both understand that, but we will work very closely together and give everyone the best opportunity to get the success that we all want to see,” he concluded.