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Harry Brook could replace Ollie Pope as England vice-captain for the Ashes after Brendon McCullum, the head coach, revealed it was up for discussion in an otherwise “easy” squad to select.
Speaking after an afternoon of solid rain in Nottingham caused a washout of the third Twenty20 between England and South Africa – the international home summer ending with a 1-1 series draw – McCullum floated the possibility of Brook as Ben Stokes’s deputy given his role as the limited-over captain.
McCullum said: “It’s no secret that Brook is emerging as a leader within English cricket, so that’s something we need to work out. But whatever happens, a great team understands that just because you haven’t got a [leadership] title, doesn’t stop you from being a leader.”
A switch would be a blow to Pope, who has been vice-captain since late 2022 and led the team five times during this time. McCullum confirming Pope will also be the reserve wicketkeeper on tour – the role he performed in New Zealand last year, handing Jacob Bethell his chance – is unlikely to soften it.
As for the squad overall, McCullum said he wants at least seven seamers, even if he is searching for a new person to mentor for them. Tim Southee, who replaced Jimmy Anderson in the role this summer, is committed to playing franchise cricket, with Andrew Flintoff tipped as one option for the role.
With McCullum confident that Mark Wood will be “cherry ripe” after knee surgery in March blew out his summer, the main question mark is the spare spinner. Shoaib Bashir is still the No 1, McCullum insisted, despite missing the back end of the 2-2 series draw against India with a broken hand.
Liam Dawson replaced Bashir for the Old Trafford Test but a wicketless final day, plus his usual winter commitments in franchise cricket, may lead to Rehan Ahmed getting the nod. As for Stokes, who is recovering from a shoulder injury, McCullum has no concerns and expects him to have a “booming series”.
The head coach said: “I know how much [Stokes] wants these Ashes. My job will be to finesse that. Sometimes, we can want something too much and our haste to want to succeed can be the thing that stops us succeeding. But it’s going to be a ripper.”
McCullum offering his thoughts on the Ashes – and defending England’s solitary warmup, pointing out they have won the first Test of every away tour under his leadership – offered some interest on an otherwise soggy day at Trent Bridge. Brian Clough may have walked on water in this part of the world but they are still to work out how to stop it falling from the sky.
Not that England’s summer is over entirely. A squad flies to Ireland on Monday for three further T20s, albeit further diluted by Brook and Jofra Archer being granted a breather before the winter. No Brook means Bethell will get his first taste of captaincy at the tender age of just 21.
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“I spoke to Beth last night and I just told him to do it his way and enjoy it and just don’t try and do anything that he doesn’t believe in,” said McCullum, who similarly misses the Ireland trip to take a break. “As much as he’s a flair player on the field, he’s very well prepared and planned.”
Asked if Bethell could yet start the Ashes in Perth for any reason other than an injury to an incumbent batter, McCullum said he would “wait until we get down there” before making that call. England’s warmup match against their own Lions side may yet decide who gets the nod for the No 3 position.
Before the rain fell in Nottingham, England also announced that Saqib Mahmood will miss Ireland to undergo “minor knee surgery”. In comes Hampshire’s Scott Currie, a former England Under-19 seamer who won three one-day international caps for Scotland last year, for his first senior call-up.
Among the greatest pities about the damp scenes was that Salt, Jos Buttler, Luke Wood, Tom Banton and Dawson all missed T20 Finals Day at Edgbaston 24 hours earlier to then mill around watching puddles form on the covers.
Still, in spite of the absentees and the time of year, Somerset’s victory capped a memorable occasion that clearly meant so much to so many. The T20 Blast may no longer be the premier men’s short-form tournament in England but, to pinch a line from Clough, it is definitely in the top one.
