Harry’s in a hurry: New England ODI captain Brook tells acting coach Marcus Trescothick his plan to take down Aussies in ODI series just MINUTES after final T20 is washed out
Harry Brook will captain England for the first time later this week — and highlighted his enthusiasm for the job by texting acting coach Marcus Trescothick minutes after the final T20 against Australia was washed out today.
Yorkshire’s Brook, 25, was keen to start planning for the five one-day matches against the Australians starting on Thursday after Jos Buttler was ruled out with recurring right-calf trouble.
Trescothick replied to inform the ex-England Under 19 captain, who won five out of six matches as skipper of the Northern Superchargers last month, that he was otherwise engaged with post-match duties following the abandonment at Old Trafford, which meant the T20 series finished 1-1.
‘We’ve seen him in the Hundred, and the approach that he goes about things with,’ Trescothick said. ‘I don’t think it’ll be much different to what we’ve had here with Phil (Salt) doing the job.
‘We’ve got a couple of good guys who understand the game well and come from the mould of what we’re trying to do — which is a positive style of cricket.’
Harry Brook (L) is set to captain England for the first time after Jos Buttler (R) was ruled out
England’s acting coach Marcus Trescothick is in charge until Brendon McCullum takes over
Buttler, 34, has remained around the T20 squad this week, just as he did two years ago when a calf injury prevented him stepping on the field on the seven-match tour of Pakistan.
Of his latest setback, incurred while preparing for the Hundred and aggravated earlier this month, he said: ‘At my age, I’ve just got to make sure I get it right. There’s lots to look forward to in the future.
‘Injuries force you to stop and take a different perspective and it’s nice to be around the guys, getting to know some new faces and seeing what they’re all about; trying to share my ideas and listen to theirs.’
One player not initially selected to report to Nottingham ahead of the first ODI was Liam Livingstone, but England reacted to his man-of-the-series form — including a 47-ball 87 to level the series in Cardiff last Friday — with a recall as a replacement-of-sorts for Leicestershire’s left-arm giant Josh Hull yesterday. Hull injured his quad on his Test debut against Sri Lanka last week.
‘It’s a reward for good performances and also dealing with the disappointment of being left out in a very good fashion,’ Trescothick said.
‘It’s how you want players to react. To come back and go, “No, you’ve made a mistake, put me back in”. It’s great to have him back, playing like he is at the moment.’
Liam Livingstone earned a recall to England’s ODI team after strong showings in the T20 series
Towering bowler Josh Hull hurt his quad during England’s Test series against Sri Lanka
Trescothick is holding the fort with England’s white-ball teams until Brendon McCullum assumes overall authority in January, meaning the Test batting coach will be involved in not only the summer finale against Australia but the pre-Christmas tours to Pakistan, West Indies and New Zealand.
Buttler would have relinquished the gloves in the T20s had he been fit, and England must now decide whether Salt or Jamie Smith takes them for the one-dayers, and which matches Jofra Archer will sit out as part of his long-term, back-to-bowling programme.