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Harry Brook admitted he is taking notes from Ben Stokes on the art of being a successful captain amid growing noises the Yorkshireman will lead England in the future.
In Stokes’ injury-enforced absence, Ollie Pope has overseen a Test series win over Sri Lanka with a match to spare but his “personality” has been questioned by Ashes 2005-winning skipper Michael Vaughan.
As Pope has amassed just 30 runs in his four innings at the helm, averaging a paltry 7.5, Vaughan told the BBC last week that Brook “is an England captain in the making. I don’t see Ollie as that person”.
Brook has just had his first taste of leadership, where he and head coach Andrew Flintoff took the Northern Superchargers from rock-bottom in the Hundred last year to within a whisker of the knockouts.
He even briefly captained Stokes before the all-rounder’s summer-ending hamstring tear but when asked whether he was ready to take the reins again, Brook said cryptically: “We’ll see.”
Brook has taken inspiration from working alongside Flintoff and Stokes, who has earned rave reviews alongside Test head coach Brendon McCullum for ushering in a more relaxed, positive atmosphere.
“I’ve played with Stokesy quite a bit now and, watching the way he goes about it, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t take a few learnings from him,” Brook said.
“I did have a lot of fun (in the Hundred). It made it a lot easier having Fred (Flintoff) there. I feel like we’re quite good mates now as well. We bonded fairly well and we agreed on most things.”
Brook could resume his blossoming friendship with Flintoff this week, with the former talismanic all-rounder set to join England’s backroom staff for the third Test against Sri Lanka at the Oval.
England can complete a clean sweep of Test wins in a home summer programme for the first time in 20 years, having beaten the West Indies 3-0 in July and gone into an unassailable 2-0 lead over Sri Lanka.
The increasing aura around Brook, also touted as a successor to white-ball captain Jos Buttler, has led to him being Pope’s deputy despite coming into the Sri Lanka series with just 15 Tests under his belt.
Vaughan, who led England in 51 Tests, might be unconvinced about Pope, describing him as “quite an insecure human being” with the captaincy weighing him down, but Brook sees things differently.
“I think Popey has done an amazing job,” Brook said. “I’ve tried to give him a few ideas here and there, he’s taken some and he’s shrugged some off so it’s been good so far.
“I haven’t had to do much. It’s not a massive role, really. If he goes down, I might take over but I’m not really thinking about that. I’m just trying to help him as much as I can while I’m on the field.”
Brook is yet to fully fire against Sri Lanka with scores of 56 and 32 at Old Trafford and 33 and 37 at Lord’s, but he is keen to end the Test summer schedule with a flourish at the Oval before turning his attention to a five-match ODI series against Australia later this month.
“It’s frustrating to get starts obviously but I feel like I’m batting really well and hopefully it’s just a matter of time when a big one comes,” Brook added.
“I’m going to think about the next Test at the Oval, but obviously I want to get better at everything in all formats of the game and in different aspects of the game.
“I think as soon as you stop trying to get better, you may as well finish.”
