Harry Brook says winning back-to-back World Cups with England would be an “amazing” achievement.
Yorkshire star Brook, last night honoured by his peers with the Professional Cricketers’ Association men’s player of the year award, has his eyes set on an entirely different piece of silverware.
England are gearing up for the defence of the ICC One-Day World Cup title they won on home soil in 2019.
Picture by Matt Roberts – ICC Getty Images. Harry Brook poses during England’s official World Cup photo shoot.
Brook, now 24, was making a name for himself in Yorkshire colours that season, including scoring his first and, to date, only 50-over century against Leicestershire in the One-Day Cup.
Since then, the Burley-in-Wharfedale product has progressed to be a household name globally, not just domestically.
Brook has already had a fabulous 12 months, scoring four Test centuries and winning the T20 World Cup in Australia, with England beating Pakistan in the final at Melbourne last November.
But now he is aiming to round a memorable year off in style in India.
“I don’t think words could describe how amazing it would be to win two World Cups in a year,” he said.
Picture by Joe Maher/Getty Images. Harry Brook poses with the PCA men’s player of the year award.
Brook is fresh off a summer that unfortunately didn’t include an appearance of any sort for Yorkshire, though he thrilled his home fans with a superb second-innings 75 in the third Ashes Test at Headingley in early July when England chased down 251 to win a thriller by three wickets to halve a 2-0 deficit in a series which was ultimately drawn.
Brook scored 363 runs with four fifties overall in the series.
“It’s definitely been a summer to remember,” he said, having also been awarded the Freedom of Bradford alongside team-mates Jonny Bairstow and Adil Rashid.
“I’ve enjoyed every minute of it to be honest. To be part of my first Ashes was a dream come true.
“It was a phenomenal series, and some of the tactical moves Stokesy made were just mind-boggling. He’s an unbelievable captain, the best I’ve played under.
“I was happy with how it went for me. I had that knock at Headingley, which got us into a winning position. I didn’t get one of the big scores which I’d have liked to have gone on and got, but I can’t really complain with 360 runs.”
Despite the lack of a big score, his contributions were still crucial to wins at Headingley and the Oval, where he also scored 85 in the first innings of a 49-run success.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Harry Brook on the drive during July’s Headingley Test.
“That’s what I base my game on,” he said. “I want to be a match-winning batter for every team I play for, whether it’s in T20 or Test Matches. That’s something I pride myself on.”
Brook is now back in India, where he spent two months from late March to late May playing his first Indian Premier League campaign with Sunrisers Hyderabad.
That was Brook’s most difficult spell of the year. He scored 190 runs in 11 matches, including a fabulous 100 not out in a win over Kolkata at the iconic Eden Gardens.
It will be an experience which stands him in good stead for what is to come over the next few months, with England also returning to India for a five-match Test series from late January to early March.
“The IPL was a good trip, and I came away from it with quite a lot of learnings,” he added. “I’ve said this quite a few times, you probably learn the most from your failures and your down times.”
There is every chance that Brook will now transfer those learnings into a starring role for England over the next seven weeks. They start their 50-over title defence against New Zealand in Ahmedabad on Thursday (9.30am UK).
