Ben Stokes he gave his full support Harry Brooks as his preferred successor to lead the England Test team after his retirement from international cricket. Brook, who currently captains England in ODIs and T20Is, served as Stokes’ vice-captain in the Test set-up and is widely regarded as the front-runner to take over the role for good.Interestingly, when Stokes was not available for the second Test against New Zealand, the England management opted for the former captain Joe Root to lead the side in place of Brook. However, Stokes made it clear he was not involved in the decision and reiterated his belief that Brook was the natural choice to succeed him.“There’s a reason why he’s been asked to be vice-captain of this team, I know with all the controversy over the last few weeks, there were some decisions that were made, but they were decisions that I had no part in making,” Stokes said after England’s defeat in his farewell Test.
Harry Brook should be the natural heir
The 35-year-old explained that Brook’s promotion will simply follow the traditional leadership path within the team.“You’re asked to be vice-captain of the team for a reason, I was vice-captain under Joe for a long time, and it’s a natural progression. If the captain’s not there or not available, then you do it. So there’s absolutely no reason why Harry shouldn’t be asked to do that,” Stokes added.Stokes also highlighted Brook’s growing influence in the dressing room, backing the Yorkshire forward to thrive in the role.“He’s someone who is obviously an incredible player and one of the older players in this group. Only time will tell, but you don’t ask someone to be vice-captain if you don’t think they have the skills and ability to captain the team when they need to. If they asked me who should do it, I put my 100% behind Harry Brook,” Stokes concluded.Brook was officially named England white-ball captain in April 2025 following the resignation of Jos Buttler, and most recently led the side during the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Harry Brook has established himself as a generational superstar in Test cricket, currently ranked second in the world in the ICC Test batsmen rankings just behind teammate Joe Root.
