McCullum: Harry Brook's Test captaincy 'time will come'
Brendon McCullum told Sky Sports during the London Spirit v MI London match at The Hundred on 6 August 2026 that Harry Brook's "time will come" as England Test captain and said he supported Joe Root's return to the role. McCullum made the comments while backing Root's captaincy and as Brook continues preparations with the white-ball side for next year's 50-over World Cup.
Brook, 27, replaced Jos Buttler as England's white-ball captain in 2025 and had been Test vice-captain, but he was overlooked after Ben Stokes' shock retirement and Joe Root was reappointed to lead England in Tests, having previously captained in 64 matches between 2017 and 2022. McCullum, who was sacked in July after a run of bad results and off-field incidents, remains publicly supportive of the leadership group around England cricket.
"Everyone knows the affection that I have for Harry," McCullum said. "He's a wonderful player and he's doing a fine job as white-ball leader. I think his time will come in the Test job." He added: "I'm looking forward to working with him and hopefully growing and developing him into the leader that he can become. At some stage in the future, he will have a very important role in that capacity. But for now, Joe will do an amazing job."
Brook recently captained England to a 2-1 one-day international series win over India and has shown form in The Hundred, striking a 15-ball fifty for Sunrisers Leeds earlier this week. As England's white-ball leader he remains central to preparations for the 50-over World Cup next year.
McCullum also expressed his full support for Stephen Fleming, who has replaced him as Test coach, saying: "I had a great time in my four years but now it's going in a different direction, I think Flem will be excellent." Fleming, 53, will not be in charge for the upcoming Pakistan series with Marcus Trescothick stepping in, and his first assignment will be the tour of South Africa in December.
Reflecting on the recent record under the McCullum-Stokes tenure, the former coach noted the mixed results: he won 10 out of 12 Tests in his first year but, since then, England have lost 18 and won 17 of 37. On coordination between coach and leadership, McCullum said: "We talk pretty much every day, we're close mates. We've done a lot together and he's one of those guys who I trust completely. We both just want what's best for English cricket. We want to set this up so that English cricket can be successful across all three formats of the game. That is going to take some give and take at times, we both understand that, but we will work very closely together and give everyone the best opportunity to get the success that we all want to see."
England's first Test against Pakistan starts on 19 August, which will be Joe Root's first match back in charge, and Brook and McCullum are scheduled to oversee three T20s and three ODIs against Sri Lanka in September; earlier on 6 August England's squad for the first Test was announced with Ollie Pope and Dan Lawrence recalled to the side.
