Rob Key backs Brook to bring calm as England captain

Key was speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast as Brook is all set to kickstart his era when England take on West Indies at home across three ODIs and as many T20Is from May 29, followed by a white-ball series against South Africa at home in September. Brook has overtaken the position of former T20 World Cup 2022-winning captain Jos Butter, who resigned after a series of disappointing ICC event showings, which included a seventh-place finish with just three wins while defending the title in World Cup 2023, a run to the semifinal of ICC T20 World Cup 2024 and a winless ICC Champions Trophy campaign.

Speaking during the podcast as quoted by Sky Sports, Key said, "There is a lot of chaos in leadership and captaincy."

"You have got to have a poker face, and when everyone looks at him, they think he is in control and he knows what he is doing, that is really important."

"A lot of the time you do not, but when you look like you do, people think this is the right way and they follow. It is something that Brook does," he continued.

Key also said that Buttler, free from the weight of captaincy, looks liberated during the IPL, having made 202 runs in five matches at an average of 50.50 with two fifties.

"That extra responsibility can be hard, but so far Brook looks like someone who can compartmentalise things whilst also focusing on his batting," he added.

While Key warned that Brook would initially not sound very polished while talking to the media, "but it will get better as he does all of that stuff because he is clear on what he wants and has conviction, which is not always the case."

Currently ranked number two in the ICC Men's Test Batting Rankings, Brook has spent the past year as vice-captain in both ODI and T20I formats.

He made his captaincy debut against Australia last September in Buttler's absence, earning praise for his tactical awareness and calm leadership. The series was a closely contested one which Australia won 3-2.

The burden of captaincy also did not seem to affect Brook as he top-scored in the series with 312 runs in five matches at an average of 78.00 and a strike rate of over 127, with a century and two half-centuries.

Brook was also the captain of England U19s in the Men's U19 World Cup 2018. In that tournament, Brook made 239 runs in five matches with a century and two fifties to his name. England finished at the seventh spot in the competition.