T20 World Cup: Harry Brook shows he is England captain of the future

There is, of course, another man to whom Brock owes the performance.

His coach Brendon McCullum was pushed to the brink by the Ashes defeat. Some will say that he has already passed the point where he can come back from.

But by securing a place in the semi-finals, Brook pushed England closer to a result that would keep the New Zealander in a job if he wanted it.

Brook could be the Mark Robins to McCullum’s manager Sir Alex Ferguson – given the New Zealander has a long way to go.

Brock has always been one of Buzzbull’s most loyal believers.

McCullum is the only Test coach Brook has had, and the only permanent coach to have served under him as white-ball captain. He often speaks directly from McCollum’s philosophical handbook.

So it was no surprise that he credited his coach with the plan to promote Brook from fifth to third for the first time in his international career.

It was McCullum who proposed the idea to his team captain early Tuesday morning, less than 12 hours before the start of the match.

Some England players, such as Jacob Bethell, who has been pushed into the No. 4 spot through Brook’s promotion, had been told earlier in the day, but the rest were not fully aware of the plan until McCullum spoke in the pre-match meeting.

“Baz was the mastermind there,” Brock said.

“He had a discussion with me this morning about moving up the rankings and trying to maximize the power.”

McCullum’s move means England have now earned a free kick in their final Super 8 match against New Zealand on Friday. They will then travel to India for the semi-final match.

Somehow, after stuttering and struggling up to this point, they are the team closest to winning the title. Australia are already gone and defending champions India could follow before the week is out.

If the host country remains, one of South Africa or the West Indies will almost certainly be eliminated from the tournament.

Brook is two wins away from becoming the fourth England men’s captain – after Paul Collingwood, Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler – to lift the World Cup.

He leads his way, which will bring you moments that will leave you scratching your head. But now is the time to support Brooke.

Not only is he a leader, he is tactically astute on the field and extremely talented with the bat, but he is also a leader.