McCullum hints at Harry Brook as vice-captaincy option ahead of Ashes

London [UK], September 15 (ANI): Harry Brook could be in contention to replace Ollie Pope as Ben Stokes' deputy when England travel to Australia this winter, with head coach Brendon McCullum confirming that the vice-captaincy issue will be part of their pre-Ashes discussions this week, as per ESPNcricinfo.

McCullum will return to New Zealand on Monday evening after England's home summer wrapped up with a rain-affected T20I against South Africa at Trent Bridge. Before flying out, he is scheduled to meet managing director Rob Key in London to finalise the squad for the Ashes. While McCullum admitted that the overall selection should be pretty straightforward, he also acknowledged that certain key decisions.

Ollie Pope, who was named vice-captain in 2023, has stood in as skipper five times, most recently during the fifth Test against India when Stokes was sidelined with a shoulder injury. However, McCullum revealed that there has been no conversation with Pope yet about the role. The Surrey batter, 27, has shown leadership qualities and delivered a Test average of 41.60 at No.3 under Stokes' captaincy. He also guided England to a 2-1 series victory against Sri Lanka last year.

"We will work on that one as well," McCullum said on appointing a new vice-captain for the Ashes, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

"We will chat about that over the coming days, as we finalise our Ashes squad," he added.

"You're always looking at things, right? Every time you get together with a series, you discuss things. I think it's no secret that Harry Brook is emerging as a leader within English cricket, so that's something we need to work out. But whatever happens, a great team man understands that just because you haven't got a title, doesn't stop you from being a leader," he noted.

The emergence of Harry Brook as a strong leader has added a new dimension to the debate. Brook was handed the limited-overs captaincy earlier this year after Jos Buttler stepped down, and McCullum has been impressed with how he has handled the responsibility.

"I think he's taken to the role really well, really quickly. Still a work in progress but he's got a demanding schedule himself and we have to be aware of that as we move forward," he said.

"He's got a good head on his shoulders, he's well connected within the group. He keeps things very simple. We've got a really good relationship and I think that started well," McCullum noted.

At the same time, Pope's position at No.3 is under pressure with young Jacob Bethell pushing hard for a place. Bethell had a breakout year in 2024, averaging 52.00 on his debut Test tour to New Zealand, and he recently struck his maiden professional hundred against South Africa in the ODIs. He is also set to become England's youngest-ever captain this week, as he will be leading the T20I side to Ireland.

"We'll slow ourselves down a bit there," McCullum on whether if Bethell could break into the XI for the first Ashes Test.

"We'll wait till we get down there before we start making those decisions," he noted.

McCullum also indicated that Pope would likely serve as back-up wicketkeeper to Jamie Smith. Other squad calls, such as the choice of a second spinner behind Shoaib Bashir, with Rehan Ahmed, Liam Dawson and Jack Leach all in contention.

England are expected to travel with as many as seven fast bowlers to handle the demands of a five-match series. Mark Wood's fitness remains a concern, with the Durham pacer yet to return to competitive cricket following knee surgery in March.

"I think it's a pretty easy squad to pick really," McCullum said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

"From our point of view, our very good back-up wicketkeeper is Ollie Pope, he's done a great job for us in similar conditions in New Zealand. We know where we are at, probably the only one is the second spinner which we need to chat about to make sure we pick the person who will give us the greatest chance. It's pretty settled," he noted.

"We are also in the lucky position that, because of the schedule, we know that the Lions are going to be in Australia at the same time. A lot of the guys in that Lions set-up, if needed, will be playing cricket down there, up and running, and if needed can come across into the full squad anyway," he said.

"We don't need too big a squad, but as we have prepared for over the last couple of years, we have a very settled group of batters, a cartel of fast bowlers, and Shoaib Bashir as our frontline spinner. He will give us the greatest opportunity with his bounce when required. We have a counter-attacking batsman at No 7 and a captain with the bit between his teeth and is super excited," he added.

Meanwhile, the coaching staff is also undergoing changes. With Tim Southee unavailable due to International League T20 (ILT20) commitments and James Anderson will also be not available, England will appoint their third seam-bowling consultant of the year for the Ashes. Southee will conclude his duties in England's white-ball series in New Zealand in October.

"Tim won't be available for the Ashes," McCullum said.

"There's a couple of guys I'm talking to at the moment. Hopefully we will confirm one of those. They're good names. It would be nice to add them," he added.

McCullum will skip the Ireland tour, leaving assistants Jeetan Patel and Marcus Trescothick in charge. He said he plans to recharge at home before welcoming the boys to New Zealand and then gearing up for his first-ever Ashes tour as coach.

"Ramp it up now, we're ready to go," he said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

"I thought it would be exciting. We're very keen to make sure that we treat every series in isolation and give it the respect and the focus it deserves, because the minute you get too far in front of yourself, you're going to get your arse kicked. So we always deliberately try and do that. But now the Ashes is our next assignment in the Test team, so we can't wait. It's going to be awesome," he noted.

"We try to do our best to insulate the environment, on good days and bad, from a lot of that noise and we know the noise is going to be extreme. But it doesn't mean we're not excited about that. It's going to be a huge series and we go down there with the type of team that we want. We'll give ourselves every chance against the very, very good Australian side in their own conditions. It's going to be a ripper," he said. (ANI)

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