Ben Stokes Full support Harry Brooke as his preferred successor to lead the England Test team upon his retirement from international cricket. Brooke, who currently captains England in ODIs and T20Is, serves as Stokes’ vice-captain in Test matches and is widely considered the frontrunner to take over the role permanently.Interestingly, when Stokes missed the second Test against New Zealand, the England management opted for the former captain Joe Root Leading the team in Brook’s place. However, Stokes made it clear he had no involvement in the decision and reiterated his belief that Brook was the natural choice to succeed him.“He was asked to be vice-captain of this team for a reason and I know that in the controversy over the last few weeks, some decisions were made but I was not involved in those decisions,” Stokes said after England’s defeat in the farewell Test.
Harry Brooke should be the natural successor
The 35-year-old explained that Brooke’s promotion will simply follow the traditional leadership path within the team.“For some reason you’re asked to be vice-captain of a team and I was vice-captain under Joe for a long time and it’s a natural progression. If the captain isn’t there or can’t play then you step up. So there’s absolutely no reason why Harry shouldn’t be asked to do that,” Stokes added.Stokes also highlighted Brooke’s growing influence in the dressing room, backing the Yorkshire batsman to thrive in the role.“He’s obviously an incredible player and one of the more senior players in this group. Only time will tell, but if you don’t think someone has the skills and ability to be the vice-captain of the team when the need arises, you don’t ask him to be the vice-captain. If someone asked me who I thought should be the vice-captain, I would back Harry Brooke 100 per cent,” Stokes concluded.Brooke was officially appointed as England white-ball captain in April 2025 following the resignation of Jos Buttler and recently led the team to the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Harry Brook has become a generational superstar in Test cricket and is currently ranked second in the world in the ICC Test batting rankings, behind teammate Joe Root.
