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6 days ago
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New England white-ball captain Harry Brook says he will not play in overseas franchise leagues for the "near future" as he manages his workload.
Brook, 26, was named one-day and T20 skipper on Monday, replacing Jos Buttler, who quit after England's failed Champions Trophy campaign.
The main concern about appointing Brook, who pulled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) last month, has been around his schedule as a regular in England's Test, one-day and T20 sides.
"England is the way forward for me and franchise cricket can almost take a step back for a little while," Brook told the BBC.
"I enjoy playing cricket for England more than anything else, so to lose a little bit of money here and there - I'd take that any day to play for England."
Speaking to the media for the first time since his appointment, Brook suggested he will look to play in every England series but accepted "there might be a couple of opportunities to have a little break here and there".
England's priorities this year are Test series against India in the summer and the Ashes in Australia in the winter.
They play white-ball series against West Indies in June and South Africa and Ireland in September, and travel to New Zealand in November before the Ashes.
Soon after the Ashes ends in January there is a white-ball tour to Sri Lanka before the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka starting in February.
"I'd like to play every game but if I require a week off and that's the best thing going forward for my game, then I'm sure I'll be allowed a week off," said Brook.
Brook, who was part of England's 2022 T20 World Cup win, said that, if forced to chose, he would prefer to win the Ashes than lead England to their third men's T20 title next year.
"The Ashes is the pinnacle of cricket for me still," he said.
While Brook will not play in overseas leagues, he said he still expects to play in The Hundred for Northern Superchargers.
Rules brought in for this year's IPL suggest he will be banned from that competition for two years after his withdrawal.
Brook takes charge after a poor run for England in white-ball cricket. They held both the T20 and 50-over world titles in 2022 but have since disappointed in their defence of each crown.
They also exited the Champions Trophy without winning a match, which resulted in Buttler's resignation.
Brook said he expected Buttler to play a key role in the team, and that batter Joe Root and Test captain and all-rounder Ben Stokes would also be considered for selection.
Brook said he has held conversations about appointing a vice-captain but that a decision would be announced closer to the West Indies series, which begins on 29 May.
"I want someone who can lead from the front on and off the field - someone who would be playing most of the time, almost every game," Brook said.
England have lost 10 of their 11 white-ball matches this year.
Brook said England "were not good enough", and the mantra he set out for his team was not significantly different to the principles held by coach Brendon McCullum.
"I want us to go out there and be very competitive, very aggressive and be 100% committed to what we're trying to achieve," Brook said.
"I want players who naturally put the best bowlers under pressure from their best ball to their worst ball, to be able to manipulate the field at different stages of the game and be able to score big runs, especially in one-day cricket.
"As a bowler, I want them to work towards modes of dismissals, be able to get every batter out in the world, have a plan to each batter and then be able to have the skills to bowl to any field to any plan at any time in the game."
