When Harry Brook made 91 not out in the T20 Roses clash at Headingley during the 2021 season, not only was it a career-best score but he also passed a total of 1,000 runs in the competition during the innings. Furthermore, he became the youngest Yorkshire player to achieve the feat for the county. Paul Dyson compares this achievement with the other nine batters to pass the four-figure target.
As the following shows, Harry Brook was aged just 22 when he scored his 1,000th T20 run for Yorkshire. This makes him easily the youngest to reach the target for the county – beating the previous record by two years and 241 days.
BATTERS WHO HAVE SCORED 1,000 T20 RUNS FOR YORKSHIRE
| Name | T20 Debut | Year | Age | Innings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Brook | 2018 | 2021 | 22 years 130 days | 35 |
| Tom Kohler-Cadmore | 2017 | 2019 | 25 years 6 days | 35 |
| Jonny Bairstow | 2010 | 2015 | 25 years 261 days | 49 |
| Gary Ballance | 2010 | 2016 | 26 years 193 days | 45 |
| Andrew Gale | 2004 | 2010 | 26 years 208 days | 43 |
| David Willey | 2016 | 2018 | 28 years 169 days | 32 |
| Adam Lyth | 2008 | 2016 | 28 years 280 days | 56 |
| Joe Root | 2011 | 2021 | 30 years 199 days | 38 |
| Tim Bresnan | 2003 | 2017 | 32 years 156 days | 65 |
| Anthony McGrath | 2004 | 2009 | 33 years 239 days | 41 |
There are several observations and explanations to be made. Anthony McGrath was already a seasoned professional by the time T20 came along; he was 28 when he played his first game in the competition, compared with Brook being only 19 when his T20 career started. Not so with Tim Bresnan – he was a mere 18 when his T20 experience began but with his effective bowling being his prominent skill it took him longest of all to reach the target. Nevertheless, he is still the only player to score 1,000 runs and take 100 wickets in this format for Yorkshire.
David Willey is the only one to reach the 1,000-run target in fewer innings than Brook. However, when he came to Yorkshire at the age of 26 from Northamptonshire he had already played in no fewer than 104 T20 matches including 11 for England and done the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets. Similarly, Yorkshire was also Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s second county; for Worcestershire he had scored the small matter of 915 runs in 38 innings.
Probably the biggest surprise on the list is the number of innings it took for Adam Lyth to reach his 1,000 T20 runs. However, it took a long time for it to be worked out where was his best position in the batting order. Sometimes he batted so low that the impression was given that he was only in the side for his fielding, his off-spin bowling being a more neglected art in his early days. However, he has made up for his slow start in memorable fashion. It took him only 26 more innings to reach 2,000 runs, thus achieving that target in one innings fewer than Andrew Gale’s 83 – and, at the age of 30, was 249 days younger than Gale had been. Early in 2021 Lyth became the first – and so far, only – Yorkshire batter to score 3,000 T20 runs; he passed the target in his 116th innings and at the age of 33.
Should Brook continue at his present rate then Lyth’s records, remarkable as they are, will disappear in only a very few seasons. Exciting times for Yorkshire’s young and talented batter.
