England always come first for Brook

HARRY BROOK slipped into the captain’s stripes and promised he would always put England ahead of raking in franchise millions.

- By Mike Walters

Under slate-grey skies at Headingley, the Yorkshireman was unveiled as his country’s new white-ball skipper.

And he explained why he rejected £550,000 to play for Delhi Capitals in the IPL.

Brook, 26, said: “England are the way forward for me and franchise cricket can almost take a step back for a while. I enjoy playing 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.”

Although Brook has been banned for two years by the IPL for pulling out of a contract two years running, the lines of communication between Delhi and Leeds appear to have been blurred.

“They haven’t told me,” he said. “But if I do get banned, fair play. That’s the rules.”