Shedding fat and a technical tweak make Brook a star
Yorkshire’s rising batsman has the perfect chance to prove his Test credentials in this week’s Roses match
After he walked out to bat for Yorkshire at Chelmsford last week, Harry Brook promptly swept his second ball, from Simon Harmer, through midwicket for four. It was the prelude to a 101-ball century, sealed with a pulled six off leg-spinner Matt Critchley, that added to Brook’s stunning start to the summer of 2022.
Brook’s four County Championship matches have so far brought 635 runs, the most in Division One, at 158.8 apiece. These performances have added to the sense that he is one of English cricket’s coming men. Already he has made his Twenty20 international debut this year in Barbados: an indication of the regard in which he is held. Now, aged 23, a Test debut could beckon at No 5.
“It’s probably come at a really good time,” Brook says. “There are probably going to be a few changes in that England team and if I’m picked then that’s great. If not, I’ll just keep playing for Yorkshire and trying to score runs for them. I’m not chasing anything too dramatically – what will be, will be.
“I’ve matured, I know my game a bit better now. I know how to try and score runs in first-class cricket. I think I had the ability before but I didn’t really know how to.”
Progressing through the Yorkshire pathway – he was steeped in cricket through his family’s love of the game – Brook was always recognised as a fine talent. But he credits work done with Martin Speight, the former Durham player who is now director of cricket at Sedbergh, in Cumbria, where Brook went to secondary school, with taking his firstclass game to the next level.
Before the summer of 2020, the two had a series of one-on-one sessions, working to change Brook’s balance at the crease.
“I changed to doing a trigger movement, I think that’s been a lot of help for me. It gets me into better positions, it gets my head into better positions, I’ve got better balance and it’s just helped my game all round.”
Essentially, Brook now moves his back toe to be in line with off stump as the ball is released. This mirrors the off-stump approach that, while frowned upon by many former players, is used by batsmen including Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and, on occasion, Joe
Root.
The results have been remarkable. In 28 first-class matches until 2020, Brook averaged just 21.9. In 24 games since, he averages 52.8, scoring five centuries – including three already in 2022.
Brook particularly excels driving through the off side and flicking balls off his pads. His strike rate this year is 78 – to Speight, his greatest feature is how late he plays the ball.
Brook singles out Speight as a particularly big influence on his life. Aged 13, Brook gained a scholarship to be a boarder at Sedbergh.
“I was a bit of a chubby kid as well, I needed to lose a bit of weight and that was probably the best place to go for that,” Brook says. “I came away a better player having gone there.”
As a professional, Brook first announced his talents in T20. Last year he averaged 61 across the T20
Blast and Hundred, where he found a handy man to impress.
“He is not scared of any situation, he is not frightened of any bowler and he just sticks to what works for him,” Ben Stokes said of his Northern Superchargers team-mate. “That is exactly what we try and create in the England team so I don’t think it will be too long before we see him wearing the Three Lions.” For Brook, the Hundred served as proof that he could thrive in front of big crowds. But he believes that the foundations of his game can hold up in all formats, and this week’s Roses match, facing James Anderson and company, presents him with his best opportunity yet. “They’ve probably got the best Test seamer to ever live and another couple of internationals in there as well, so it’s going to be a challenge,” he says. “It’s basically a Test attack. So anybody who scores runs against these boys is obviously a very good player.” After his start to the year, England will expect nothing less.