How Have His Predecessors Fared With This Dilemma?
After a disastrous 2025 Champions Trophy campaign, in which England lost all three games to finish bottom of their group, coupled with an equally poor 2023 World Cup, it led to Jos Buttler’s resignation as England’s white-ball captain.
With much deliberation, the ECB decided to appoint Harry Brook as the captain of the England ODI and T20I sides.
The 26-year-old had previously captained the England ODI side during the 2023 ODI series at home with Australia, where the visitors prevailed 3-2. However, Brook was the leading run-scorer in the series with 312 runs, including a match-winning 110* in the third ODI.
His maiden ODI hundred was the standout moment in an otherwise up-and-down ODI career that has struggled as of late.
It will be primarily in the ODI format where the Yorkshireman will have to rediscover the form that made England almost unbeatable as they broke several records in the process.
Some, such as ESPNcricinfo’s Andrew Miller, have questioned whether captaincy will be a burden on the young superstar in an ever-growing cricket calendar.
Whereas others, such as Sky Sports’ Michael Atherton, have highlighted the lack of options available and supported the decision to make Brook the 37th ODI and 12th T20I captain for England.
World In Sport has looked into the effect on the individual performance of England players in their careers and after being appointed captain. We have assessed the three players who have achieved the highest number of England ODI games as captain.
Eoin Morgan
ODI Captain Record: Played: 126, Won: 76, Tied: 2, Loss: 40, No Result: 8
2011-2022 W%60.32
ODI Career Stats: Played 248, Runs: 7701, Average: 39.29
ODI Stats as Captain: Played: 126, Runs: 4403, Average: 44.03
Morgan received the captaincy in interim spells from 2011 but was handed the reins permanently before the 2015 Cricket World Cup. Although that tournament ended abysmally, he oversaw the transformation of English cricket that led to England’s maiden Cricket World Cup victory in 2019.
Harry Brook will be seeking to follow Morgan’s achievements as captain and with the bat. Not only is Morgan England’s leading run-scorer in limited overs cricket, but no England captain in the modern era has a higher win percentage than Morgan in ODI cricket, with 60.32%.
No England player has scored more than 4 ODI hundreds as captain (he has 8), epitomised as Morgan’s average as captain rose to 44.03 from a career average of 39.29, showing captaincy improved Morgan and England’s record.
Alastair Cook
ODI Captain Record: Played: 69, Won: 36, Tied: 1, Loss: 30, No Result: 2
2010-2014 W%52.17
ODI Career Stats: Played: 92, Runs: 3204, Average: 36.41
ODI Stats as Captain: Played: 69, Runs: 2502, Average: 38.49
The former Essex man led England’s ODI team permanently from 2011 until his removal from the role before the 2015 World Cup..The highlight of his tenure was the runner-up position achieved during the 2013 Champions Trophy, where England lost to India.
Brook will be looking to emulate Cook’s form with the captaincy. Although Cook’s average rose only marginally from a career 36.41 to 38.49 as captain, between 2010 and 2013, he averaged 45.13 with four hundreds and fifteen fifties in 69 innings.
During this time, Cook captained England in 69 games, winning 36 (52.2% win rate). Of ODI players to captain England more than 30 times, only Mike Gatting (70.28%), Michael Vaughan (53.33%), and Eoin Morgan (60.3%) have a higher win-rate.
Andrew Strauss
ODI Captain Record: Played: 62, Won: 27, Tied: 1, Loss: 33, No Result: 1
2006-2011 W%43.55
ODI Career Stats: Played: 125, Runs 4205, Average: 35.64
ODI Stats as Captain: Played: 62, Runs: 2367, Average: 39.45
A masterful captain for England’s test side, Strauss’s expertise did not stretch to the one-day side. A semi-final exit at the 2009 Champions Trophy, followed by a quarter-final departure at the 2011 World Cu,p were notable moments from an underwhelming captaincy that meant England lost half of their games under his leadership (43.55% win rate).
With the bat that the former Middlesex man proved his resilience. His average as captain jumped significantly from a career 35.64 to 39.45, and he scored the majority of his ODI hundreds as captain (4), including a masterful 158 against India at the 2011 World Cup.
Brook will have learnt a lesson from Strauss on the importance of maintaining a winning team, something that ultimately led to his downfall as white-ball captain.
