6 Tests. 9 Innings. Four Centuries. 807 Runs. Average of 100.88. And a stunning strike-rate of 99.38. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you thought these were numbers from someone batting in a video game and that too on the easy mode. These astonishing numbers are from England’s newest batting prodigy Harry Brook who has continued a dream start to his Test career, peeling off a fourth century in just what is his sixth match of international career.
On Friday, Brook came in to bat when England were wobbling at 21/3 on the first day of the 2nd Test on a pitch which didn’t look much different from the outfield. And the youngster counterattacked, unleashing a flurry of boundaries en route to a blistering hundred that left New Zealand tormented.
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Thanks to rain, New Zealand caught an early break from the thrashing with Brook unbeaten on 184 off 169, an innings in which he has clattered 24 fours and five sixes.
The legendary Alastair Cook has been mightily impressed by what he has seen of Brook so far and tipped him to dominate Test cricket.
“I wouldn’t know exactly what to do as a captain against a man in Brook’s form, because he’s got every option covered,” Cook said on BT Sport. “They quite rightly tried to bowl top of off to him, he had some luck at the beginning, a couple of inside-edges past the stumps.
“But some of these shots you can only dream of and the confidence to play them and the skill to be able to consistently hit cleanly in the right areas – it’s been an absolute pleasure to sit here and watch a Harry Brook masterclass,” he added.
Cook says he would be surprised if Brook doesn’t go on to play over 100 Tests.
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“184 not out on day one of a Test match after being 21-3, striking at over 100, it’s extraordinary when you start breaking it down like that. I’ll be astonished if he doesn’t play over 100 Test matches. I’m expecting him to be able to dominate Test cricket, 50-over cricket, 20-over cricket, be one of the all-time great players – without putting too much pressure on him!” he said.
Cook mentioned that this is perhaps a purple patch of Brook’s career and warned that playing cricket non-stop could perhaps leave him exhausted at some stage
“He’s not going to average that [over 100] for the course of his career, it is a purple patch of extraordinary form, you get them if you’re lucky and he’s been able to drag his out quite long and he’ll be wanting to continue,” Cook said.
“There’s so many questions about what’s going to happen – the IPL, is he going to get burnt out at some stage? He can’t play every format and every game, but when you’re young you want to carry on and play every day,” he added.
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