Harry Brook insists the Ashes is on backburner as focus turns to New Zealand

Harry Brook insisted Ashes fever has not spread into his England white-ball camp as the Yorkshireman prepares to start a “hell of a long winter” this weekend.

Excitement levels are already peaking in England and Australia despite the opening Test in Perth being more than a month away, with former rivals Stuart Broad and David Warner this week fanning the flames.

A limited-overs tour of New Zealand, beginning in Christchurch on Saturday with the first of three T20s, has flown under the radar but Brook insisted the Black Caps have his undivided attention.

When asked about the recent Ashes barbs flying around, Brook responded: “I haven’t seen any of it. We’ve got an extremely strong New Zealand side coming up and that’s the main focus at the minute.”

Brook, as an all-format regular and white-ball captain, will likely shoulder a heavy burden in the next few months with the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka following hot on the heels of the Ashes.

England’s last visit to Asia this year saw them lose 10 out of 11 matches, including seven from eight in India, but Brook was bullish about regaining the trophy he helped them win in Australia in 2022.

“You always go into any world competition to try and win it,” Brook said. “Otherwise, what’s the point of going if you’re not going to try and win?

“But that’s a long way away yet. We’ve got a hell of a long winter, so I’m just concentrating on the first game here in New Zealand. We’ll approach that when the time comes.”

Brook is back to lead the side at Hagley Oval after being rested last month in Ireland, where Jacob Bethell became England’s youngest men’s captain, aged 21, and guided them to a 2-0 T20 series win.

When they last had a full complement, England became the first Test nation to score 300 in a men’s T20, with Phil Salt and Jos Buttler flaying South Africa’s bowlers to all parts at Emirates Old Trafford.

“If we can carry that momentum going forward, (it would be) awesome,” Brook said. “With the bigger picture being the T20 World Cup, there’s a lot of areas that we can improve on.

“There’s a lot of areas we can keep on getting better at so it’s just about continuing that momentum, playing together as a group and always heading in the same direction.”

England arrived in Christchurch on Wednesday after a few days 200 miles south in Queenstown on a team bonding trip. For Brook, a fun-loving tourist, the pre-series excursion was just the ticket.

“That was the whole point of having that little trip, to get some time together which we’ve lacked a lot in the past,” Brook added. “We’ve never really had that opportunity, so to do that was awesome.

“Touring’s awesome. We get to see some of the best places in the world, experience some of the greatest things with a load of my mates. I don’t see it as a chore at all. I absolutely love touring.”

While not part of the squads for the T20s or ODIs that follow against New Zealand, fast bowler Gus Atkinson linked up with his England team-mates on Thursday afternoon to acclimatise ahead of the Ashes. Fellow pacemen Mark Wood and Josh Tongue are expected to follow suit next week.