Ben Stokes and Harry Brook two contenders for England white-ball captaincy, says Eoin Morgan
England should choose between Harry Brook and Ben Stokes as white-ball captain, depending on their immediate targets, says former skipper Eoin Morgan; Jos Buttler resigned from the role during England's dismal Champions Trophy campaign in Pakistan
Monday 31 March 2025 09:42, UK
Harry Brook and Ben Stokes are the two leading contenders to take over England's white-ball captaincy, says Eoin Morgan.
But the choice will depend on what direction the team is looking to take.
England need a new limited-overs skipper, with Jos Buttler resigning from the role during the dismal Champions Trophy campaign in Pakistan in which the team lost all three of their matches.
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Former England captain Morgan told Sky Sports News: "I think there are a couple of options and the options are dependent solely on the direction they want to take."
"I think it's imperative that you will always have a target in mind," he explained. "With the recent form the side, particularly in white-ball cricket, has had, you can't go out and all of a sudden try and win absolutely everything. You need to paint a picture moving forward as to what you're driving all of your energy towards."
He suggested: "I think a bit of a left-field call would be to ask Ben Stokes to consider the role, not necessarily on a full-time basis.
"You would have to create an environment where Ben would slip in and out seamlessly in preparation for big tournaments and then sit on the backburner and focus on Test match cricket until those big tournaments came up."
Brook could be the right choice on a longer-term view.
"If you highlight something that's in three years, four years, somebody like Harry Brook would do a magnificent job," Morgan said.
"He had the captaincy at the end of our summer last year against a really strong Australian side and I thought he was impressive.
"We know Harry Brook as this incredibly talented player that we're seeing grow and get better year on year, which is just a joy to watch. But the leadership role didn't seem to weigh on him."
"The testing element for me was after they lost a game in which I thought England played well, was just to see how they bounced back as team," Morgan continued.
"The test is always when the team gets pushed back and for me they bounced back terrifically. Came back fighting, came back punching and it wasn't reckless. It was clear, confident, calculated. For me, that's a really good sign.
"Those would be the two contenders. It would just be determined on what they identify as big opportunities where they think that they can win ultimately."
