Harry Brook taking basic mantra into his interim role as England cricket captain to start ODI reboot

NOTTINGHAM, England (AP) — Harry Brook's message will be simple as he heads into a brief spell as England cricket captain.

“Whatever you feel like doing, just do it,” he said with a smile on Wednesday.

With that philosophy, Brook should fit right into the modern approach adopted by England in test cricket, and soon in all formats, when he takes temporary charge of the ODI team for the five-match series against Australia starting Thursday at Trent Bridge.

Brook has taken on the ODI captaincy because of an injury to regular skipper Jos Buttler.

From January, England's white-ball teams will also be led by Brendon McCullum, the current coach of the test team who will unify the roles to continue the so-called “Bazball” revolution of English cricket.

Brook said that will invariably see the teams' philosophies “merge into one.”

“It’s all going to be played fairly similar," Brook said in a news conference at Trent Bridge, where the first ODI will take place. “We’re going to have the same principles or however we want to go about playing the game, trying to put that forward to the team already before Baz takes over.

“I haven’t spoken to him much, he’s kind of left it up to me and (interim ODI coach Marcus Trescothick), but me and Tres are both on the same page and a pretty similar page to Baz. Whatever you feel like doing, just do it. 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."

The five-match series against Australia is England’s first ODI assignment in nine months and comes as part of a reboot after the team's miserable 50-over World Cup title defense last year.

Three players in the squad are uncapped and five others have fewer than 10 appearances. Brook himself has only been capped 15 times in ODIs.

Brook did not reveal England’s team for Thursday, confirming only he will bat at No. 4 and Jofra Archer will play his first ODI since March 6 last year as part of his carefully managed comeback.

Archer has only played T20s for England since a return from his latest elbow injury and the aim is to have the fast bowler available to play test cricket again before the Ashes in Australia at the end of next year.

”(I’ve had) no instructions, I think he’s allowed to bowl his full 10 (overs). Just use him as normal,” Brook said of Archer.

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