Joe Root named England Test captain as selectors avoid burdening Harry Brook

England selector Marcus North said Joe Root was reappointed Test captain because the selectors did not want to burden Harry Brook with leadership across all three formats. Brook will continue to lead the ODI and T20I sides with a focus on the 2027 World Cup.

London: England national selector Marcus North explained the committee’s thinking behind handing the Test captaincy back to former skipper Joe Root rather than promoting white-ball captain Harry Brook, following Ben Stokes’ exit from international cricket.

The 35-year-old Joe Root had led England earlier and had a moderately successful first stint. Brook, 27, is currently leading the national ODI and T20I teams.

---

But, according to media reports, the reason the selectors opted for Root was that they did not want to burden Brook with the pressure of all-format captaincy.

North believes that captaining England across all three formats would be an enormous burden for any player to carry, which factored heavily into the board’s decision to bring back a seasoned figure like Root for the Test side.

He told local media on Thursday that Brook is doing excellent work as white-ball captain with an eye firmly on next year’s World Cup, and juggling leadership responsibility across all three formats simultaneously was simply too demanding a task to hand to one captain right now.

“I think Harry Brook has obviously been a fantastic player for us across all three formats. He remains an incredibly important part of the team. I think his leadership in the white ball is maturing with every series. We’ve seen that through our T20 side getting to the No. 1 ranking in the world during the summer,” North was quoted as saying by the English media.

“So, you know, doing a fantastic job there with an eye on the World Cup at the back end of next year, working with Brendan McCullum. You know, that’s a key focus. And doing all three formats is a huge ask for any captain,” he said.

North, however, made it clear that Brook hasn’t been ruled out as a future Test captain. “I have no doubt that the time will come for Harry, but we’re very blessed that we’ve got someone like Joe, who’s so experienced and is going to do such a great job this time around with Harry and Brendan working in the white ball space.”

Root first took charge of the side back in 2017 and went on to lead England in a record 64 Tests, overseeing 28 wins along the way before stepping aside in April 2022 after a heavy ten-wicket loss to West Indies.