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England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) appointed Joe Root as the captain once again after Ben Stokes retired from international cricket earlier last month. The eyebrows were raised after Root was re-appointed as the skipper for the England National Cricket Team instead of Harry Brook, who was the vice-captain and remained in the same role. Director of Cricket Rob Key revealed the reason for not appointing Brook as captain.
Rob Key believes it was “too soon” to appoint Harry Brook as the Test captain. He feels that the coach is one who decides the captain, and thus Stephen Fleming, who was appointed as the new Test head coach on Thursday, wanted Joe Root as the captain instead of Harry Brook, as the former Kiwi believes that Root is the ideal person.
Rob Key explains on why Joe Root was appointed as captain
While giving an interview to the Independent, Rob Key stated that for Brook, it is too early to make him the skipper for the traditional format of the game. Brook has led the white-ball side since Jos Buttler stepped down as the captain.
“In an ideal world, what you want is the coach has a say in a captain,” Key explained. “Coach first, then you work out the captain – I explained that to anyone that had a chance of becoming England captain.
“During the process, you are obviously speaking to different coaches and [the captaincy] is one of the questions you start asking, getting a feel for where they are at. Stephen and I spoke a lot about who we felt the best person was.”
“It’s just too soon for Harry Brook. This feels the right time for Joe Root. He has the chance to work with what I believe is the best coach that will complement him as well.”
"I think he is still developing"- Rob Key on why Harry Brook was not made the captain
Rob Key believes that the partnership between Joe Root and Fleming will work better than Brook, as the latter is still developing as a cricketer and the Test cricket role is the toughest and the highest role.
“Those two will be a great complementary pairing to take England forward. He is our best ever batter, and now has the chance to captain the side without any of the stuff he had to deal with last time. I’m just so glad he gets that chance.”
“I think he is still developing as a player and a person, really,” the former Kent and England batter said of Brook. “The Test match job is the biggest job in cricket in England.”
Rob Key confident Harry Brook can be an outstanding captain
Rob Key believes Brook is always in contention to get the captaincy role in the future, and with Root being there as captain, the vice-captain will have something to learn from the veteran batter, and Key is also assured that Brook will be an outstanding captain in the future.
“I think that it is perfect now with Joe where he can take this ship forward as the most senior player by a long way, and Harry can continue on the project he has done in the white-ball job, and continue learning to become an outstanding leader of a cricket team.”
“You’ve got the 2027 World Cup, all of those things. At some stage, Harry Brook will be an outstanding Test captain of England cricket. It just doesn’t feel the time was right now.”
