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."

Despite two crushing defeats to England so far in their ongoing ICC Test Championship three-match series, West Indies players remain on the up, at least where the ICC Men’s Test rankings are concerned.

Captain Kraigg Brathwaite leads the charge on the batting ranking, as he moved up two slots to 40th position, following scores of 48 and 47 in the second Test, which West Indies lost by 241 runs. They lost the first Test by an innings and 114 runs and will try to avoid a whitewash in the final Test in Edgbaston starting on Friday.

Wicketkeeper/batsman Joshua de Silva was rewarded for his first innings score of 82 in that match, as he jumped seven places to 61st, while Jason Holder’s 27 and 37 saw him inched up two places to 70th. Kavem Hodge’s 120, which was his maiden Test century, pushed him into the top 80.

The Dominican batsman moved 21 places up to 75^th, one spot behind Kyle Mayers, who, despite being out of action, remains in 74th. Alick Athanaze held firm in 77th, while discarded Jermaine Blackwood (50th), Tagenarine Chanderpaul (83rd), Roston Chase (86th), and Kirk McKenzie (100) are the other Caribbean batsmen in the top 100.

On the bowling chart, new-ball bowlers Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Seales made the only notable improvements to their rankings. Joseph moved up two places to 33rd after finishing with five wickets in the match, and Seales moved up 10 places from 44th to 34th with six wickets.

Meanwhile, England batter Harry Brook has achieved a career-best third position after notching a century in the second Test.

Brook, who scored 36 and 109 in Nottingham, advanced four places, while his teammates Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope have also made significant gains in the latest weekly update to the men’s rankings, which are carried out on Wednesdays across formats.

Left-handed opener Duckett has progressed six places to 16th position after notching scores of 71 and 76, while Player of the Match Pope has advanced from 29th to 21st with scores of 121 and 51.

Chris Woakes is back into the top 20 of the bowling rankings for the first time since September 2021, after he finished with four for 84 and two for 28 in the match, while spinner Shoaib Bashir has advanced 18 slots to 53rd position after he took his third five-wicket haul in just his fifth Test.

In the ICC World Test Championship standings, England are placed in sixth place, while West Indies are ninth, as per the percentage points that determine qualification.

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."

England took control of the second Test against West Indies as the hosts established a 207-run lead at the close of play on Saturday's third day at Trent Bridge.

The hosts ended the day on 248-3, aided by two century partnerships from Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett, and Joe Root and Harry Brook. Both Brook, on 71, and Root, on 37, will resume batting on Sunday.

Despite Chris Woakes claiming the wickets of Alzarri Joseph (10) and Jayden Seales (duck) in successive balls, a final-wicket stand of 71 from Shamar Joseph (33) and Joshua da Silva, who was left unbeaten on 82, saw West Indies, who resumed at 351-5, reach 457.

Scores: England 416 & 248-3 (Duckett 76, Brook 71*, Pope 51, A Joseph 2-58) lead West Indies 457 (Hodge 120, Da Silva 82*, Woakes 4-84) by 207 runs

England's second innings, which they began 41 runs adrift, got off to a nervy start as opener Zak Crawley (three) was run out by Jayden Seales at the non-striker's end.

However, much like they did in the first innings, Duckett (76) and Pope (51) settled the hosts down with a 119-run second-wicket stand, before Alzarri Joseph claimed both in the space of eight deliveries.

Still, Brook and Root also produced an important, unbroken 108-run partnership that placed Ben Stokes' side in command heading into day four.

Data Debrief: Successive century partnerships for Duckett and Pope

With a strong finish to their opening innings, the Windies reached 457 - their highest total on English soil since 1995.

England's response was led by Duckett and Pope's impressive stand of 119, their second three-figure partnership of the series.

They became only the ninth pair to make two century stands for England in a men's Test, and first since Joe Root and Alistair Cook achieved the feat against Pakistan eight years ago.

The West Indies are on the brink of a quick defeat at stumps on day two of the first of three Tests against England at Lord’s.

The tourists ended Thursday 79-6 off 34.5 overs, needing a further 171 runs to force England to bat again.

Similar to the first innings, the West Indian top order failed to impress as Kraigg Brathwaite (4), Kirk McKenzie (0), Mikyle Louis (14) and Kavem Hodge (4) all fell within the first 20 overs of the innings with the West Indies teetering at just 37.

Alick Athanaze was next to go after battling hard for 22 to leave the West Indies 55-5 in the 29^th over before Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva looked set to see out the English bowling for the rest of the day.

This proved not to be the case as Holder became Gus Atkinson’s ninth wicket of his magical debut in the day’s last over for 20 to leave the West Indies 79-6 off 34.5 overs at stumps.

Joshua Da Silva was 8* at the close of play.

James Anderson, Atkinson and skipper Ben Stokes have taken two wickets, each, so far.

Earlier, the hosts progressed to 371 all out off 90 overs after beginning day two 189-3.

Both overnight batsmen, Joe Root and Harry Brook, went on to bring up their fifties.

Root eventually fell for a 114-ball 68 including seven fours while Brook made an even 50 off 64 balls including five fours and a six.

The top scorer on the day, however, was debutant Jamie Smith who hit eight fours and two sixes on his way to a 119-ball 70.

On his return to the Test arena, Jayden Seales was the pick of the West Indian bowlers with 4-77 from 20 overs.

Gudakesh Motie and Jason Holder provided good support for Seales with 2-41 off 16 overs and 2-58 off 18 overs, respectively.

Full Scores:

West Indies 121 all out off 41.4 overs (Mikyle Louis 27, Gus Atkinson 7-45) & 79-6 off 34.5 overs (Alick Athanaze 22, James Anderson 2-11, Ben Stokes 2-25, Gus Atkinson 2-27)

England 371 all out off 90 overs (Zak Crawley 76, Jamie Smith 70, Joe Root 68, Ollie Pope 57, Harry Brook 50, Jayden Seales 4-77, Gudakesh Motie 2-41, Jason Holder 2-58)

The chances of West Indies bettering England in their three-match Test series were always slim, and Wednesday’s opening day of the first encounter at Lord’s again justified why the host are overwhelmingly favoured.

No doubt the Caribbean side went into the contest confident that they can secure a Test series win in England for the first time since 1988, but their batting display was a far cry from a team hoping to achieve that feat.

They collapsed from 88-3 to 121 all out, as England’s attack, led by debutant Gus Atkinson, was quick, vicious and left West Indies in a tailspin with no response to the onslaught.

Debutant Mikyle Louis (27), Alick Athanaze (23), Kavem Hodge (24), Alzarri Joseph (17), and Gudakesh Motie, with an unbeaten 14, were the only scores in double figures. Atkinson bagged 7-45, the second best by an England bowler on Test debut behind Dominic Cork.

England in response were 189-3 at close, as they opened up a 68-run lead courtesy of half-centuries from Zak Crawley (76) and Ollie Pope (57). Joe Root, on 15, and Harry Brook, on 25, will resume batting on Thursday’s second day.

Scores: West Indies 121 all out (41.4 overs); England 189-3 (40 overs)

Gus Atkinson bask in the admiration of his teammates.

West Indies assistant coach Jimmy Adams narrowed their opening day performance to England’s quality bowling and inexperience batting from his team.

“I think it was fairly bowling friendly conditions, and added to that England exploited the conditions really well. They had quality swing and they didn’t give us much freedom, and maybe a little bit of experience on our part as well. So I think a combination of those issues,” Adams said in a post-day conference.

Despite their current position, Adams remains optimistic his men can get back into the contest, provided they apply themselves accordingly.

“All of England’s bowlers are world class, so we can try (to comeback), but it is going to be difficult. But this is what Test cricket is all about, you have a bad day, you think about it, roll your sleeves up and come back on day two and try and work your way back into the match. We have seven wickets to get first of all and then hopefully we can bat for a day or two and see where we go from there,” he added.

After losing their top order in the opening session with just 44 runs on the board, Hodge and Athanaze attempted to rebuild the West Indies inning from 61-3 at lunch, but having already inflicted the wound, Atkinson duly obliged and finished what he started.

Louis, the first player to represent West Indies from St Kitts and Nevis, showed promise in a 34-run opening stand with captain Kraigg Brathwaite. Both seemed set for a positive knock before Brathwaite (six) dragged a wide delivery from Atkinson onto the stumps, while Jamaican Kirk McKenzie lasted only 14 deliveries, as he too was sent back by Atkinson for a solitary run.

Mikyle Louis receives his cap from West Indies legend Sir Viv Richards.

Louis then followed, as he edged one from England’s captain Ben Stokes, which Harry Brook collected low down at third slip.

When Athanaze edged to Joe Root, it sparked a typical West Indies collapse, as Jason Holder and Joshua da Silva came and went without scoring, while Hodge served up a catch off Chris Woakes to Ollie Pope, who took it in dazzling fashion.

Alzarri Joseph attempted a counter as he slashed four boundaries in a nine-ball cameo, before he became Atkinson’s sixth victim, and Shamar Joseph (zero), the seamer’s seventh. Motie then contributed 14 runs to push the visitors past the 120-run mark, as James Anderson, playing in his final Test series, accounted for Jayden Seales.

England in their turn at bat, lost Ben Duckett (three), who knicked a Jayden Seales delivery to da Silva. However, Crawley, who rode his luck, and Pope quickly steadied things as both scored at a decent tempo, before the latter was trapped in front by Holder.

Crawley’s luck ran out soon after and he was removed by an inswinging yorker from Seales, as West Indies briefly harboured hopes of clawing their way back into the contest, but Root and Brook kept them at bay for the remainder of the day.

Seales has 2-31 so far.

Harry Brook says England are out to give the United States "a good battering" in Sunday's T20 World Cup contest as they bid to clinch a place in the last four.

Having beaten West Indies and lost to South Africa thus far in the Super 8s, England can all but secure a semi-final berth with a convincing win over the co-hosts in Barbados.

A good run-rate could prove pivotal in Group 2, where there is a chance of England, South Africa and West Indies all finishing on four points.

With that in mind, Brook has backed Jos Buttler's team to go on the offensive, saying: "We've got to win and then obviously see how we are on net run-rate but the main thing is to definitely get that win.

"We've played in Barbados quite a lot in the past six months so we know the conditions, we know the wind and the pitch as well so hopefully we can go out there and give them a good battering.

"I haven't actually seen them play, just a few highlights here and there of their bowlers, but we'll do our analysis and have a proper look to make sure we're ready for the game."

Net run-rate was the only thing that helped England survive the group stage, as they narrowly edged out Scotland to finish second behind Australia.

"We've been there before," Brook added. "We've got to concentrate on winning it first and then we'll have a chat and see what the run-rate says."

England captain Jos Buttler believes his side lost their match against South Africa in the powerplay after losing by seven runs in the Super 8s.

South Africa registered their second-most productive powerplay in the tournament so far, with Quinton de Kock proving invaluable with 49 runs during that time.

In England's powerplay, they managed to get just 41 runs, their lowest such tally of the year, and though they pushed late on, they came up just short in the chase.

Buttler admitted that in hindsight, it was South Africa's start that cost England in the end, despite giving themselves a reachable target.

"I'd say it was lost in the powerplay," Buttler said. "Quinton de Kock came out and played with really good intent, and we couldn't really match that. I think we were about 20 behind them at the end of our first six.

"The wicket did slow up, which allowed us to pull it back in the middle, and we were happy to be chasing 160. But yeah, that innings was the difference.

"It's still a good pitch but a little slower than we probably expected. I'm proud of how we responded with the ball after their good powerplay, and Brook and Livingstone had an excellent partnership there to take us so close.

"At one stage, we were favourites but T20 cricket is never that simple, and credit to South Africa for closing it out.

"We know we're still in it. We played well today; we just didn't quite get over the line."

De Kock, who finished on 65, was named Player of the Match for his impressive turn – he equalled the fastest half-century of the tournament (22 balls, level with USA's Aaron Jones), and broke his own record for the most runs in a powerplay by a South Africa batter at a men's T20 World Cup.

South Africa remain unbeaten in the tournament so far and have put themselves in a good position to qualify for the semi-finals, and De Kock was pleased with how they got the win on Friday.

"My plan was to just bat as long as I can and score as many runs I can," De Kock said. "That was pretty much it. I don't really carry or lose confidence; I just get on with my game. So that is what I focused on.

"I thought we bowled really well, especially in the powerplay. We controlled it really nicely. Overall, we were pretty solid and to defend on 160 on a decent pitch is a good effort."

South Africa made it two wins from two in the T20 World Cup Super 8s with a seven-run victory over England on Friday, edging them closer to the final four.

Quinton de Kock starred for the Proteas, but it was Anrich Nortje who ensured England could not win thanks to his bowling in the final over.

South Africa got off to the perfect start, registering their second-most productive powerplay in the tournament so far, without losing a wicket.

De Kock hit his half-century off 22 balls, eventually finishing with 65. However, they soon slipped away as England rallied.

Despite an early over costing him 21 runs, Archer finished strongly on 3-40, helped by some superb catching from Jos Buttler as England eventually limited them to 163-6.

However, England could not keep that momentum going when they stepped up to bat, getting just 41 runs in their own powerplay – their lowest tally this year.

It was not until the introduction of Harry Brook (53) and Liam Livingstone (33) that they found their groove, but when the former got caught in the in the final over, Sam Curran and Jofra Archer could not get the 14 runs they needed from the final five balls, finishing just short on 156-6.

Data Debrief: Records aplenty for De Kock

De Kock has scored back-to-back fifties at the T20 World Cup, but his tally today equalled the fastest half-century of the tournament (USA's Aaron Jones also got 50 off 22 balls).

His 49 runs in the powerplay is the most by a South Africa batter at a men's T20 World Cup, beating his own previous record of 46 against England in 2016.

England's hopes of making it to the Super 8s are still alive after a 41-run victory on DLS over Namibia on Saturday.

The rain heavily delayed the start in Antigua, reducing the match to a 10-over-a-side game.

Despite the must-win nature of the match, England's openers got off to a slow start with Jos Buttler bowled for a duck while Phil Salt was dismissed for just 11.

Harry Brook was the star with 47 not out, with Jonny Bairstow's 31 adding to their cushion, though Ruben Trumpelmann finished strongly for Namibia with a 2-31.

With England finishing on 122-5, Namibia were set a target of 127 on DLS, and their chase got off to a steady start, but by the halfway point, Namibia still needed 92 runs from 30 balls.

Shortly after, Niko Davin retired with 18, and two big catches by Brook took out Michael van Lingen (33) and David Wiese (27) ensured England eased to victory.

Now, England need to hope that Australia beat Scotland in their Group B match, otherwise, the holders will be going out in the group stage.

Data Debrief: England's hopes stay alive

Brook was the standout performer for England on both sides today, stalling Nambia's admittedly slow chase, while contributing the most to their run chase with a knock including four fours and two sixes.

It is his largest run total at the World Cup so far, more than doubling his tally from their defeat to Australia (20).

Jos Buttler was "always" going to return as England's limited-overs captain despite the team's poor ODI World Cup defence in India.

After England won the 2019 ODI World Cup in epic fashion by beating New Zealand in a Super Over at Lord's, their defence of the title in India last year saw them fail to advance from the group stage.

With England looking to put in a better defence of their T20 World Cup crown in the upcoming tournament in the West Indies and the United States which gets under way in June, Buttler says he was always going to remain limited-overs captain, though he acknowledges he made mistakes in India.

"My first priority at the moment is being England captain and trying to prepare as best we can for a world tournament," Buttler told Sky Sports. "So I always said to Rob [Key, England managing director] I would definitely be coming back as England captain, and he's made the call on the rest of the players.

"It's a chapter in the book. It was obviously a really disappointing World Cup, and your pride's dented, your confidence gets dented a bit, but time moves on and there's a really exciting opportunity now.

"I think sometimes you try and let players play with freedom and you don't want to step in too much but making sure you don't miss things.

"Maybe more communication at times to make sure people are clear on what is needed from them, on what they want from me or the coach."

England were due to kick off a four-match T20I warm-up series against Pakistan at Headingley on Wednesday, but the game was abandoned because of rain without a ball having been bowled.

England will get their T20I World Cup under way when they face Scotland in Barbados on June 4.

Buttler feels some of the newer faces in the England squad have the potential to lead the team to an improved showing on what was seen in India, saying: "I think we've got a really nice, blended squad, actually. We've got a lot of experience but some guys who are really on the upward curve with the likes of Phil Salt, Will Jacks.

"Harry Brook is still very early in his international career and those guys I really see trending in the right direction and pushing this team forward."

Jofra Archer has been recalled to England’s provisional squad for the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and United States this June.

The 29-year-old, who has not played competitive cricket since May due to a long-term elbow injury, could make his first appearance for the international team since a tour of Bangladesh in March 2023.

Archer has been limited to just 15 T20Is since his England debut in 2019 and missed their 2022 World Cup success in Australia due to the same injury.

There is a recall for fellow fast-bowler Chris Jordan, who last played for England against New Zealand in September 2023, at the expense of Chris Woakes.

Uncapped Lancashire left-arm spinner, Tom Hartley, is also named in Jos Buttler’s 15-man squad, which includes nine players from the 2022 World Cup.

England will play a four-match T20 series against Pakistan at Headingley in May before they begin their T20 World Cup title defence against Scotland in Barbados on 4 June.

England’s provisional squad:

Jos Buttler (captain), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, To Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingston, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.

England trio Zak Crawley, Joe Root and Harry Brook were all out for single-figure scores as bowlers across the Vitality County Championship had more success following the return of the Dukes ball.

The trial of the Kookaburra ball, which has a flatter seam than its Dukes counterpart and tends to go softer earlier, in the opening two rounds has proved divisive and led to much higher scores than expected in the early season.

Warwickshire captain Alex Davies’ fantastic 149 underpinned his side’s 340 for four in their Division One clash against Hampshire at the Utilita Bowl – but the opener was the only batter in the country to reach three figures on Friday.

Crawley edged to third slip for five in his first appearance of the season for Kent, who ended a rain-affected opening day on 111 for three after 39 overs against defending champions Surrey at Canterbury.

Daniel Bell-Drummond registered 70 before he was trapped in front by Tom Lawes and Daniel Worrall accounted for Crawley and fellow opener Ben Compton.

Four wickets for Shane Snater and three for England hopeful Sam Cook helped Essex skittle Lancashire for 146 at Chelmsford, where the hosts went to stumps on 68 for one with just 54 overs possible.

England off-spinner Shoaib Bashir snared the in-form Joe Clarke as Nottinghamshire were all out for 193 against Somerset at Taunton.

Craig Overton was the pick of the attack with three for 57 before a classy 70 not out from Sean Dickson led Somerset to 116 for one at the close.

Durham’s Ollie Robinson thrashed six fours and three sixes in a belligerent 55 off 43 balls but his side were all out for 244 against Worcestershire in a clash between the two promoted sides at Kidderminster.

Former West Indies captain Jason Holder took three wickets for Worcestershire, who reached 78 for four in reply.

In Division Two, Yorkshire were dismissed for 159 by Middlesex at Lord’s, where Root steered to gully for five while Brook made just three before nicking to second slip.

Middlesex slipped to 37 for two in reply but Mark Stoneman’s unbeaten 38 and Leus du Plooy’s 23 not out led the hosts to 84 without further loss, with 55.4 overs bowled in the day.

Half-centuries for Ben Charlesworth (62), Miles Hammond (56) and James Bracey (69) ushered Gloucestershire to 319 for eight against Sussex at Hove. Danny Lamb took three for 49 for the hosts.

Colin Ingram’s 69 not out rescued Glamorgan from 27 for four against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road. Ben Sanderson’s third wicket left the Welsh side on 96 for five but Ingram’s efforts and 50 from Dan Douthwaite helped them close on 203 for seven after 56.1 overs.

Leicestershire opener Marcus Harris’ unbeaten 77 got his side to 168 for two after 46 overs against Derbyshire at Derby.

Harry Brook will make his competitive comeback by appearing in Yorkshire’s first five games of the county season, with fellow England batter Joe Root joining him for four.

Brook has not played since December, having withdrawn from the Test tour of India and his planned stint at the Indian Premier League following the death of his grandmother Pauline.

Yorkshire had already indicated that the 25-year-old was likely to return early in the Vitality County Championship campaign and, following discussions with the England and Wales Cricket Board, have now confirmed his schedule.

Brook is ready to feature for the White Rose throughout April and the beginning of May, starting at home to Leicestershire on April 5 and taking in fixtures against Gloucestershire, Middlesex, Derbyshire and Glamorgan.

Thereafter, he is due to link up with England for their T20 series against Pakistan and June’s T20 World Cup.

After failing to win promotion from Division Two last year, Yorkshire’s chances of making serious waves in the second tier this year are further enhanced by the presence of former Test captain Root.

Having played a full part in the two-month Test tour of India he will miss the curtain-raiser at Headingley but then links up with the side for their next four fixtures, as well as the visit to Northamptonshire on May 24.

Head coach Ottis Gibson, who needs to see some improved results following Darren Gough’s departure as director of cricket, had earlier trailed the pair’s availability, suggesting: “Having those two playing for us would be special.”

Harry Brook has withdrawn from the Indian Premier League in order to prioritise his mental wellbeing following the death of his grandmother.

The England and Yorkshire batter pulled out of England’s recent Test tour in India in January, citing personal reasons, and in a social media post revealed the reason at the time was because his grandmother “was ill and didn’t have long left”.

In a post on Instagram, the 25-year-old confirmed that he would not be joining up with Delhi Capitals, saying: “I can confirm that I have made the very difficult decision not to play in the upcoming IPL.

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A post shared by Harry Brook (@harry_brook88)

“I was so excited to be picked by Delhi Capitals and was so looking forward to joining up with everyone.

“Whilst I don’t think I should need to share my personal reasons behind this decision, I know there will be many asking why. So I do want to share this.

“I lost my Grandmother last month – she was a rock to me and I spent a huge amount of my childhood in her home; my attitude to life and love for cricket was shaped by her and my late grandfather.”

Brook pulled out of England’s five-Test tour to India before the squad flew out from their training camp in the United Arab Emirates.

He added: “I made the decision to leave the India Test tour the night before we flew from Abu Dhabi to India because I was told for the first time that my grandmother was ill and didn’t have long left.

“Now that she has passed my family & I are grieving and I need to be around them.

“Over the last few years I have learned to prioritise my mental wellbeing and that of my family’s, honestly nothing is more important to me than family.

“So whilst this may come as surprising to some, I know it’s the right decision for me. I’m young and hope to have many, many more years of cricket to come which I intend to make the absolute most of.

“I couldn’t be more grateful for the support I have received, especially from the ECB and Delhi Capitals, thank you.”

Brook, who has made four centuries in 12 Test appearances for England, played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL last season.

Delhi Capitals are due to play their first match of the new season against against Punjab Kings on March 23.