Former England white-ball captain Eoin Morgan has backed Harry Brook as the leading candidate to succeed Ben Stokes as England’s next Test captain. Following Stokes’ decision to retire from international cricket after the Trent Bridge Test against New Zealand, the debate over England’s next red-ball leader has intensified, and Morgan believes Brook is the standout choice. With the captaincy now vacant, Morgan feels England have very few realistic options.
England team
While Joe Root briefly returned to lead the side during Stokes’ absence at The Oval, Eoin Morgan believes Brook is best placed to take the team forward. Speaking to Sky Sports Cricket, Morgan said Brook’s leadership experience in white-ball cricket makes him the natural successor. However, he also suggested that England should consider appointing a different captain in limited-overs cricket to allow Brook to focus entirely on the demands of Test cricket.
“I think there’s possibly only one candidate in that changing room, and that’s Brook – unless they go back to Joe Root. Brook is the front-runner for me, and I would look elsewhere for the white-ball captaincy. I think there are more options to give the white-ball captaincy within the side, candidates like Phil Salt, Sam Curran, and an outside pick like Will Jacks,” Eoin Morgan said.
While discussing England’s recent Test series defeat, Morgan admitted he was surprised by the tactical decisions made during the final Test at Trent Bridge. Chasing a daunting target of 373 in the fourth innings, England adopted an ultra-aggressive approach from the outset.
Morgan questioned the decision to send Stokes to open, saying it was an unnecessary gamble given the match situation. “The decision, I was a little bit shocked by. I didn’t really see it coming. Having played with Ben for a long time, I know he would have envisaged finishing in a blaze of glory, like the majority of his career. In his head, he would have believed he could go out there, open the batting and chase down whatever – or make a huge dent in the score – but I felt there was no need to make that call,” Morgan said.
Eoin Morgan
The former World Cup-winning captain added that England had positioned themselves well enough to allow Stokes to bat later and control the chase on the final morning. Instead, he believes the team forced the issue and paid the price.
“The game was set up perfectly for Ben to come in the next day and, with however many to chase, dominate the run chase. I felt it was a little bit forced and it left a sour taste in people’s mouths. It set ablaze everything they’d achieved in the three or four years leading up to that period,” he said.
Morgan also admitted that the disappointing finish may slightly affect the legacy of England’s successful Test era under Stokes and Brendon McCullum.
“In such a short space of time, to almost undermine what had been going on with some of the shots that were made by some high-quality batters was really disappointing to watch. I think to a certain extent it has. And I think Ben himself will be gutted about that, as he’ll not be around to help pick things up and move things forward,” Eoin Morgan added.
Interestingly, Stokes himself has publicly endorsed Brook as his preferred successor. Brook has also admitted that captaining England’s Test side would be a tremendous honour if the opportunity comes his way, making him the clear frontrunner to lead the Three Lions into a new era.
