Rob Key explains why England captaincy could ‘bring out the best’ in Harry Brook

England have said that ‘nothing is off the table’ when it comes to a replacement for Jos Buttler, with no timeline for an appointment set

Harry Brook has been touted as England’s next white-ball captain (PA Wire)

Rob Key believes that the England captaincy could “bring out the best” in Harry Brook but insisted there is no timeline on an appointment to replace Jos Buttler in the role.

England’s men are seeking a new white-ball skipper after Buttler stepped down following a disastrous Champions Trophy campaign, a third successive major tournament disappointment for the side.

Key, director of men’s cricket, is now assessing the options for the role in partnership with head coach Brendon McCullum, and insisted that “nothing is off the table” with regards to the position.

A splitting of the ODI and T20 captaincy duties, a role for Test skipper Ben Stokes and appointing a skipper from those outside of the current squad were all mentioned as possibilities by Key as part of a wider rebuild of a side that has struggled to hit the heights of late that they achieved under Eoin Morgan.

But Brook impressed when he filled in for Buttler during an ODI series against Australia at the backend of last summer, and would appear an obvious option for an elevation to the role on a full-time basis.

“I don’t know, to be honest,” Key said on when a new captain might be announced. “We will let the dust settle and I will look into everything I possibly can. It could be a couple of weeks, it could be a month, I don’t know.

“I think you are always cautious about everything, really, but those are the decisions you’ve got to make. I think Harry Brook would be an outstanding captain, actually. I was cautious about Ben Stokes doing it and having too much, but look how he’s gone.

“I think he is the [England] Test captain with the best winning percentage since Douglas Jardine. Everyone talks about us not winning, but we’ve got a Test captain who has done that.

Harry Brook captained England against Australia last summer (PA Wire)

“There’s enough upside to it. I think it might bring out the best in Harry Brook. The extra responsibility is sometimes the best thing for people. Sometimes it’s not. That’s what you have to work out.”

Buttler stepped down after three years in the role. His tenure started brilliantly with a T20 World Cup triumph in Australia, but his personal performances dipped as England’s form declined.

Key accepted that the outgoing captain had not perhaps been set up to succeed, with Stokes and the Test team often taking priority as their fortunes were transformed.

The 45-year-old expressed his confidence, though, that the wicketkeeper-batter would play on and remain a key figure in the side.

Key said: “I think that, speaking to Jos, and the little bits that I’ve seen from him, he’s absolutely committed to getting his form back and being the batter that he is, helping us win World Cups.

Rob Key is hopeful that Jos Buttler will retain a big role in the England side (AP)

“The 2027 World Cup is in South Africa, it’s a different style of cricket again. It is out of the subcontinent and back to more of what we are used to where you are able to go and play a style of cricket that suits us more.

“Jos Buttler is absolutely the key to us being successful, and I still believe that for years to come, he can do that. It might be that he goes back to keeping - whatever it is, he is someone that you build your team around.”

The prospect of Stokes taking on extra duties in a huge year for the Test team that includes series against India and Australia feels unlikely, but Key thinks it would be foolish not to consider him as an option.

"Ben Stokes is one of the best captains I've ever seen," he said. "It would be stupid not to look at him. It's just the knock-on effect of what that means.

Ben Stokes is under consideration for a white-ball captaincy role (PA Wire)

"You're just trying to find who is the best leader to take this team forward? Who can manage that? Who is actually going to drive it? Leadership is everything. He's an unbelievably good tactician, which we've seen in Test cricket, but he's a leader of men.

“We don't want to risk other things but there's always a way in England to start looking at, 'what if it goes wrong?'. Well, you've also got to think, 'what if it goes right?'," he said.

"They're the decisions that I have to make. People surprise you, don't they? I think he's been an outstanding leader and he loves doing the job. Ben has a lot of energy for a lot of things."