Harry Brook Announced as England’s New Test Vice-Captain

The preparation for the Ashes is heating up, as England has announced a 16-man squad to face Australia in December. As expected by the news circling around, England has picked Harry Brook as the new vice-captain for the all-important Ashes tests. He has replaced Ollie Pope as the new deputy to Ben Stokes. This means that we could see Jacob Bethell at the number 3 position in tests as well. England is currently looking at various strategies to counter Australia in the Ashes, hence these fresh decisions are taken to build the best possible squad.

Ollie Pope has come under increased pressure due to his recent batting form. After scoring a century against India in the first test, he struggled to score valuable runs. Due to that, he finished the series with an average of 34 at the end. This shows the fact that the form of Ollie Pope is not right there where it is needed by the England team.

Keeping that in view, Brendon McCullum had to make a call sooner or later. The promotion of Harry Brook as vice-captain has been therefore announced to bolster the squad. Recently, Brook has also been announced as the captain of England's white ball teams. He took the guard after Jos Buttler decided to step down as England captain. Now, the promotion as a deputy to Ben Stokes yet again showcases his rising value in the team.

Keeping in view the current fitness of Ben Stokes, the role of Harry Brook becomes more important for the England team. The management has said that Stokes is on track to recover from the injury, hence they are pretty confident that he will lead the side in the first test against Australia.  

Meanwhile, the return of Will Jacks in the test squad is the biggest surprise. He has not represented England for quite some time, as he played his last test series in Pakistan in 2022. England has picked Jacks ahead of Rehan Ahmed, Liam Dawson and Jack Leach, meaning that he is the only reserve spinner behind Shoaib Bashir in the squad.

Speaking about the fast bowling options, Matthew Potts has been called to bolster the attack alongside Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and others. The fast bowling lineup of England, therefore, looks strong, as it also includes Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue in the mix.

England will also tour New Zealand for six white ball games before arriving in Australia. They will play three T20Is and three ODIs against the Kiwis before the start of the all-important Ashes.

England T20I Squad for New Zealand Series

Harry Brook (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Sonny Baker, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Luke Wood.

England ODI Squad for New Zealand Series

Harry Brook (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Sonny Baker, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Brydon Carse, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood, Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith

England Ashes Squad for Australia

Ben Stokes (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook (vice-captain), Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Josh Tongue, Mark Wood