Joe Root has called an end to his England Test captaincy.
Root was appointed as the successor to Alastair Cook in 2017 and holds the record for most wins as an England captain in the longest format of the game (27).
But disappointing returns in recent outings, with England winless in five Test series, brought Root's tenure into question.
Head coach Chris Silverwood was sacked in the wake of a 4-0 Ashes thrashing by Australia before a series loss to West Indies under interim coach Paul Collingwood.
The ECB are expected to soon announce a new managing director to shape the future of English cricket, and Root confirmed on Friday that he would not take up the captaincy for any longer.
He said: "After returning from the Caribbean tour and having time to reflect, I have decided to step down as England Men's Test captain. It has been the most challenging decision I have had to make in my career but having discussed this with my family and those closest to me; I know the timing is right.
"I am immensely proud to have captained my country and will look back on the past five years with enormous pride. It has been an honour to have done the job and to have been a custodian of what is the pinnacle of English cricket.
"I have loved leading my country, but recently it's hit home how much of a toll it has taken on me and the impact it has had on me away from the game.
"I want to take this opportunity to thank my family, Carrie, Alfred and Bella, who have lived it all with me and been incredible pillars of love and support throughout. All of the players, coaches and support staff that have helped me during my tenure. It has been a great privilege to have been with them on this journey.
"I would also like to thank all the England supporters for their unwavering support. We are lucky to have the best fans in the world, and wherever we play, that positivity is something we always cherish and admire, which is a huge drive for all of us out there.
"I am excited to continue representing the Three Lions and producing performances that will enable the team to succeed. I look forward to helping the next captain, my teammates and coaches in whatever way I can."
Maguire labels England criticism 'ridiculous' following Euro 2024 display
Harry Maguire has defended his England team-mates after their performance at Euro 2024, labelling the criticism as "a bit ridiculous".
England reached back-to-back European Championship finals but suffered the same outcome in Berlin as they did at Wembley three years ago.
The defeat against Spain saw Gareth Southgate become the first head coach in the history of the tournament to end up on the losing side in two finals.
Southgate called time on his eight-year tenure in charge of the Three Lions two days after the tournament ended, winning 59.8% of his 102 games in charge.
Despite this, underwhelming performances in Germany saw cups thrown towards the former England head coach as supporters jeered the players.
Southgate came under fire for his defensive approach, though only Walter Winterbottom (383) and Alf Ramsey (224) have overseen more England goals than his 213.
However, Maguire has come to the defence of his team-mates.
“Yes, performances might not have been amazing but it is tournament football," Maguire told BBC Sport.
"It is not as expansive. There are far less risks taken. You can’t afford to make mistakes or get caught going out in a full press. You saw throughout the tournament there were not many high-scoring wins.
“I just don’t know what the media or fans expected of this team. Was it to go and beat Serbia 4-0 in the first game and then beat Denmark 3-0? Did they think it was just going to be a walk in the park?”
Under Southgate's stewardship, England reached more major tournament finals in four attempts (two) than they did in their first 23 appearances at the World Cup and Euros (one).
Maguire played 63 times during Southgate's time in charge, a total only bettered by Harry Kane (81), Kyle Walker (70), Jordan Pickford and John Stones (both 68).
Maguire was forced to miss the tournament having picked up an injury in May, forcing him to miss Manchester United's FA Cup success against Manchester City.
Euro 2024 was the first major tournament he has missed during his international career, having become a mainstay in central defence alongside Stones.
Maguire's 17 appearances at major tournaments saw him keep seven clean sheets, but he insisted that missing out on Euro 2024 was difficult for him to comprehend.
"To miss out was tough," said Maguire.
“It has been really frustrating, working all season to get myself mentally and physically at the top of my game and be in a position to feel I could really make a difference for Manchester United and my country."
Brook keen to focus on Test cricket amid England captaincy uncertainty
Harry Brook has stated that while Test cricket is his main priority, gaining leadership experience in the Hundred could see him throw his hat in the ring for England’s white-ball captaincy one day.
The futures of skipper Jos Buttler and head coach Matthew Mott are up in the air after England's failure to successfully defend their 50-over and T20 World Cup titles.
Brook, who has risen to third in the ICC Test batting rankings, a place behind his team-mate Joe Root, is a possible candidate to take on the captaincy.
The 25-year-old starred in England's win over the West Indies last week, scoring a fifth Test century at Trent Bridge from 139 balls in their 241-run triumph.
Brook is due to lead Northern Superchargers in the 100-ball tournament under coach Andrew Flintoff, who was England’s assistant coach at the T20 World Cup in June.
"This is my first captaincy role with the Superchargers," Brook said. "We'll see how that goes and then maybe I'll have a different answer in a couple of months.
"I don't see anything happening any time soon, so I'll just stay in the moment and focus on Test cricket."
Brook will join up with the Superchargers following England's third and final Test against West Indies at Edgbaston, which begins on Friday.
England’s schedule makes it difficult for Brook or any other Test regular to captain the white-ball team. The first T20 against Australia is the day after the Test series against Sri Lanka finishes.
The ODI series later that month ends a couple of days before England fly to Pakistan to play Tests. That series finishes on October 28, with an ODI series in the Caribbean beginning three days later.
"I want to play every Test match I can for England," said Brook.
"Test cricket is my priority. I don't want to think too far ahead. The Ashes is a long way away and we have a lot of Test cricket before then. My main focus is to stay in the moment and not get ahead of myself."
Pope backing England to make 600 in a day ahead of third West Indies Test
Ollie Pope believes England could shatter records by making 600 runs in a single day as they target a series whitewash over West Indies at Edgbaston.
England sealed a series victory over the Windies in last week's second Test at Trent Bridge, scoring over 400 in both innings of a Test match for the first time as they made totals of 416 and 425.
Vice-captain Pope managed a superb first-innings knock of 121 before Joe Root (122) and Harry Brook (109) brought up their centuries in the second innings.
England have become renowned for their all-out batting style – dubbed 'Bazball' – under head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes.
Pope believes that approach suits England's batters and feels they could make history by breaking the record for most runs made by a team in a single day of Test cricket – Sri Lanka's 509-9 versus Bangladesh in July 2002.
"I got asked on day one, 'do you get told to play like that?' No, we don't. It's just our natural game and the way we go about it," Pope said.
"Sometimes we might score 280 to 300 in a day, but that's okay and probably because we're reading situations.
"There might also be a day where we go and get 500 to 600 at some point in the future as well, and that's a cool thing to have."
England came within three runs of that record Sri Lanka total on their 2022 tour of Pakistan, and Pope believes their success is down to the ruthlessness of the batting order.
"There's a real hunger – there always is a hunger – but now there's an extra bit in that batting line-up," Pope added.
"We want to be as ruthless as we can as a batting unit, but still play the way we do because that's our natural game.
"Obviously being ruthless is being part of Test cricket as well."
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