Harry Brook believes England will play aggressively across all formats under McCullum

Harry Brook is confident that England will maintain their aggressive playing style across all formats after Brendon McCullum took over as the white-ball head coach. McCullum, who has already made a significant impact with England's Test team by introducing the "Bazball" approach, will start his white-ball coaching duties from January 2025. Brook expects McCullum’s influence to bring consistency in England’s playing principles.

“I think it’s all going to merge into one at some point. It’s all going to be played fairly similar. We’re going to have the same principles on however we want to go about playing the game, trying to put that forward to the team already before Baz takes over," Brook said.

For now, Brook is set to captain England in the upcoming ODI series against Australia, as Jos Buttler is sidelined due to a calf injury. Marcus Trescothick, who is part of McCullum’s red-ball coaching team, will step in as interim head coach. Brook mentioned that he and Trescothick are aligned with McCullum’s aggressive approach. 

“I haven’t spoken to him much, he’s kind of left it up to me and Tres, but me and Tres are both on the same page and a pretty similar page to Baz. We want to go out there, be entertaining, entertain the crowd, take the game on, try to take wickets and put the pressure on their bowlers. In the field, try to influence the game as much as you can," he further added.

Brook also reflected on the challenges of playing Test cricket after receiving criticism from former England captains Michael Vaughan and Alastair Cook for his shot selection against Sri Lanka. 

"I want to get a hundred every innings. But it’s not going to happen, is it? Professional sport is not easy and they call it Test cricket for a reason. It is a bloody tough test. I’m just going to go out there, watch the ball as closely as I can and play on instinct," he concluded.

England will be hoping to implement their aggressive approach in the five-match ODI series against Australia, which kicks off on September 19.