Harry Brook

Pipped as a generational talent, Harry Brook took Test cricket by storm when he ended as the top-scorer in a 3-match Test series in Pakistan. While scoring 468 runs at an average of 93.6 from 5 innings on his first tour to the subcontinent was impressive enough, what made Brook's achievement truly remarkable was the fact that those runs came at an astounding strike-rate of 93.41. A true acolyte of the 'Bazball' philosophy, Brook, after just a handful of Tests, was a testament of what Ben Stokes' renewed Test side stood for.

An impressive upcoming young batsman, Brook was no stranger to being in the headlines. After making his first-class debut for Yorkshire against Pakistan A in 2016 while still being a schoolboy, Brook made his County Championship debut the following year in 2017 having racked up several noteworthy performances for the 2nd XI. Brook's maiden first-class hundred came in a crunch situation in a game against Essex at Chelmsford. Yorkshire were blown out for just 50 in the first innings with Brook himself, opening the batting, making a 3-ball duck. Under pressure to save the game, Brook, this time batting at three, made a magnificent 124 and Yorkshire eventually went on to win the game. While Brook had showcased his potential, he struggled with consistency.

While that was Harry Brook in red-ball cricket, he had far better returns in limited-overs cricket and it was actually his performances here that shot him into greater recognition. Named the captain of England's Under-19 squad during the 2018 World Cup, Brook led from the front as he became only the second English player to make a century at that level, after Alastair Cook - when he made 102 against Bangladesh. He ended the tournament as England's highest run-scorer, with 239 runs. At the domestic level, Brook had an impressive T20 Blast in 2020 and returned with an even stronger performance in 2021. Moving up the order to number 4, Brook finished as Yorkshire's leading run-scorer with 486 runs at a superb average of 69.42 and a strike-rate of 149.07. Signed by the Northern Superchargers in the inaugural edition of The Hundred, Brook kept his performances up at the big stage and he drew the attention of the right men.

Come the beginning of 2022, Brook was named in England's T20I squad for a series against the West Indies. He played just one game and scored just 10, Brook had already done enough to showcase his potential and the selectors wanted to see more. He was named in England's Test squad for the home summer with series' against New Zealand and South Africa and while his Test debut, much like his T20I debut, wasn't a success with him batting just once and scoring 12, Brook retained his spot for the subsequent tour of Pakistan.

Before all his antics in Pakistan though, Brook had already won a T20 World Cup with England. Awarded a spot in England's squad for the 2022 T20 World Cup after impressive performances for both Yorkshire and the Superchargers, Brook had a poor run as he scored just 56 runs from 5 innings. Nonetheless, Ben Stokes and England kept their faith in a player that was still a young rookie and boy did he repay them in the year that followed. After a glorious tour of Pakistan, which England won 3-0 on the back of Brook's three hundreds and a fifty, he finished as the leading-scorer again in a 2-match Test series in New Zealand.

In what was perhaps Brook's best innings yet, he walked in with England in deep trouble at 21/3 in the first innings of the first Test. With questions already being raised about England's Bazball approach in testing conditions, Brook batted with a flair that was stunning to watch, scary to bowl to and hard to fault - even for Bazball dissidents. Batting with a sense of freedom that many can only dream of, Brook struck a glorious 186 off just 174 deliveries and shared a monumental 302-run stand to rescue England. While England dramatically lost the game by 1 run, with Brook being run-out without facing a ball in the next innings, it didn't take the sheen off his outstanding start in Test cricket and returned scores of 89 and 54 in the next Test.

Brook's next major assignment was the highly anticipated home Ashes series of 2023. While his 363 runs at an average of 40.41 and strike rate of 78.74 looked strangely mediocre relative to his prior returns, Brook's claim to fame came in the third Test when he became the fastest ever to a 1000 Test runs in terms of balls faced - getting there in just 1058 balls.

Prior to all that though, Brook had already made an impression on IPL franchise owners and it led to him getting picked up by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for a whopping INR 13.25 crore for the 2023 edition of the tournament. Amongst Brook's long list of achievements that led to his lucrative IPL contract was his maiden T20 hundred that came playing for the Islamabad United in the 2022 edition of the PSL. However, Brook couldn't quite live up to the name he'd made for himself though and a century he scored against KKR was his only innings of note. Opening the batting but looking like a fish out of water batting against quality spin, Brook finished the tournament leaving a lot to be desired and was eventually let go by the Sunrisers. He was picked up by the Delhi Capitals for the 2024 season of the IPL, albeit at a much lower price tag of INR 4 crore.

By Anurag Hegde