Harry Brook insisted there is no amount of money on the lucrative franchise circuit that could sway him from his England commitments ahead of a crucial next few months.
The Yorkshireman sacrificed a £590,000 deal with Delhi Capitals at the ongoing Indian Premier League in a bid to keep himself fit and firing for blockbuster Test series against India and Australia this year.
With his appointment as England’s new white-ball captain confirmed earlier this week, Brook has an unrelenting schedule going forwards even if, as he suggested, he could skip one or two lesser series.
But asked whether a monumental offer on the T20 domestic scene could get between him and England, Brook replied: “Definitely not at the minute. I just want to play cricket for England.
“There’s a lot of cricket and I’m looking forward to all of it. I’d like to play every game but if I require a week off and that’s the best thing for my game then I’m sure I’ll be allowed a week off.”
Brook may not be eligible again for the IPL until 2027 as new tournament rules brought in for this year dictate that anyone withdrawing for any reason other than injury would incur a two-year suspension.
“That’s the rules, so if I do get banned, fair play,” Brook said.
“I’m completely committed to playing cricket for England, if that means franchise takes a step back for a little while, so be it.”
Brook has been tasked with reviving England’s ailing limited-overs sides, having served as vice-captain to Jos Buttler recently and stood in for him during an ODI series against Australia last year.
Despite a 3-2 series defeat, Brook, who has also led Northern Superchargers in The Hundred, was the highest run-scorer, averaging 78 with a strike-rate of 127.86, to lead the fightback from 2-0 down.
“This might sound a little bit stupid but when you’re captain, it almost makes you want to win a little bit more,” he said.
“It’s not me saying that when I’m not captain, I don’t want to win.
“But I’m a very competitive person, I hate losing at anything. Hopefully I can bring that competitiveness and have it in a good way around the group.
“I’m going to be myself, as much as I possibly can be. If you play cricket for England, we’re living that dream, as a 10-year-old looking at yourself now, you’d be absolutely buzzing and over the moon.
“I want us to go out there and be very competitive, very aggressive and be 100 per cent committed to what we’re trying to achieve.”
After three successive blowouts at major tournaments, Brook wants to turn around England’s fortunes at next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, which follows hot on the heels of the Ashes.
But when asked which of the two he places more emphasis on, Brook, who will begin his reign with the first of three ODIs against West Indies on May 29 at Edgbaston, smiled and said after a moment’s hesitation: “I think it is the Ashes.
“I know I’ve taken over the white-ball captaincy, but the Ashes is the pinnacle of cricket for me, still.”
PA
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