2 days ago
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Joe Root has lavished praise on Harry Brook and Brendon McCullum after the pair celebrated their first one-day international victory abroad while in charge of England’s white-ball teams.
Root’s 75 was the guiding hand in England’s five-wicket win against Sri Lanka on Saturday, ending a losing streak away from home that began in November 2024. McCullum began his reign as all-format head coach two months later in India before Brook ascended to the limited-overs captaincy in April. Both have been scrutinised in recent weeks: McCullum’s future has been questioned after England’s defeat in the Ashes while Brook has apologised for clashing with a nightclub bouncer on the eve of the third ODI against New Zealand at the start of the winter.
On the Brook incident, Root said: “He’s apologised, he’s taken his punishment and he’s desperate to take this team forward. I think he’s going to be a brilliant England captain and he’s going to do wonderful things in an England shirt, both as a player and as a leader. So I’m fully behind him and want to see him, I suppose, move past it and learn from it and grow as a person and as a captain off the back of it.
“I think Baz [McCullum] is one of the best coaches I’ve ever worked with. If you look at my own personal game, the time that he’s been coach, it’s improved tenfold. I think most of the players, if you look individually, all of their games have improved under his tenure as coach. Same with [Jeetan Patel] and [Marcus Trescothick] as batting coach and assistant coach. They’ve done a lot of really good things for English cricket and will do in the future as well. Obviously, we’re disappointed with the way things went out in Australia, but I still think that there’s a lot of more really exciting things to come from this group.”
While claiming that he is “still having the best time” in the current England setup, Root added that he has not properly reflected on the Ashes just yet. “After this tour I’m going to get a couple of months to sit back and look at it properly and probably emotionlessly. I think that’s probably the most sensible way to do it.
“I could sit here and get wound up and angry about it and probably say something that I don’t necessarily mean or I could give myself some time to properly reflect on it and then have a proper, honest conversation with a bit more reason and sense behind it.”
