Harry Brook says his enforced time away from the game at the start of the year was a contributing factor to him amassing a stunning 317 for England against Pakistan today.
The Yorkshire star missed England’s New Year Test tour of India following the passing of his grandmother, Pauline, who had been a huge influence on the 25-year-old’s upbringing in Burley-in-Wharfedale.
Whilst spending time closer to his family, Brook also worked hard on his fitness and went through pre-season with his Yorkshire team-mates at Headingley.
He also missed the IPL before starting the summer in scintillating fashion in the Vitality County Championship, scoring 388 runs in five matches with two hundreds.
In fact, Brook topped Yorkshire’s averages for their promotion-winning campaign, at 77.6.
At the end of day four in Multan, Brook spoke to Sky Sports and was asked by Ian Ward just how important his work done off the field was and whether he would have been able to play today’s innings – in the searing heat – without it.
Picture by Stu Forster/Getty Images. Joe Root and Harry Brook celebrate their fabulous day in Multan.
“Honestly, I don’t think I would have been able to,” he said. “It’s made a massive difference.”
That phrase of ‘Strong Yorkshire, strong England’ rang truer than ever today, as Brook united with his close mate and fellow Yorkshire icon, Joe Root, to take England to a first-innings 823-7 declared in reply to Pakistan’s 556 all out.
The hosts then ended the day in tatters at 152-6, staring down the barrel of a fifth-day loss.
Root and Brook completed a fourth-wicket stand of 454, the highest partnership for England and the fourth-highest overall in the history of Test Match Cricket.
While Brook posted a career best score, so did Root with a fabulous 262 – one which took him beyond Sir Alastair Cook’s tally of 12,472 runs to become the leading run-scorer for England in Test history.
“It was all about trying to get us into a position where we could have a real shot at doing something special and winning this game,” said Root.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Joe Root celebrates an early-season Championship century against Derbyshire at Headingley.
“And that last session, the way we’ve bowled, has been fantastic. For them to be six down is brilliant.
“Batting with Brooky, he’s a character. Sometimes he makes you laugh without even trying! It’s good fun.
“We’ve batted a lot together over the years for Yorkshire and England. It was brilliant to stand at the other end and watch him play like that. It was phenomenal.”
Brook said: “It feels pretty good. I’m just glad that the team’s in a strong position to win the game tomorrow.
“We had a lot of fun out there. We didn’t say much, but we had a lot of fun. It was hot and hard work, but we enjoyed it. It was a good wicket, and I just wanted to cash in as much as possible.”
Brook’s potential was known at Headingley long before he broke through into first-team cricket with Yorkshire in 2016, let alone onto the international stage with England six years later.
Picture by John Heald. Harry Brook looks to the skies after his opening round century against Leicestershire at Headingley in April, honouring his late grandmother, Pauline.
Root praised: “I knew how good he was going to be, but it was just about when he was going to figure it out.
“The pace in which he has matured into the player he is is probably the one thing which has shocked me. At the same time, it hasn’t because of his work ethic and the way he looks at the game.
“To see him go and play like that, and standing at the other end, was awesome.”
And Brook also hailed Root’s qualities, adding: “He’s obviously one of the best players and England’s greatest ever batter.
“What comforts you the most when you’re out there is watching how easy he makes it look and how hard it is for the bowlers to get him out.
“He plays the ball so late and scores a lot of runs through third-man, which is tough to defend. They’re bowling their best ball and he’s scoring runs off it.”
Picture by Stu Forster/Getty Images. Joe Root and Harry Brook on their way to the crease in Multan today.
