Ten years on from his career-best Ashes summer of 2013, Ian Bell has tipped Harry Brook to prove he can be England’s latest middle-order “match-winner” against Australia.
Bell won the urn on five separate occasions as a player, peaking a decade ago when he was named man of the series during England’s 3-0 success on home soil.
He hit centuries in each of his side’s victories, with matching knocks of 109 at Lord’s and Trent Bridge followed by 113 at Chester-le-Street, and topped the scoring charts with 562 runs.
Bell moved up and down the batting order during his 118-cap career but his golden summer came at number five, the position Brook has made his own over the course of a prolific winter.
The Yorkshireman already has four hundreds from his first seven Tests – averaging 81.80 – and Bell is confident he has a game that will hold up to the heat of Ashes cricket.
“In terms of ability and talent there’s no doubt, Harry is a match-winner in his own right and he’s proved it already,” Bell told the PA news agency.
“He has a wonderful technique, which is the first and most important thing. Yes, he has an array of attacking shots and he can be very aggressive, but when you look at his movements and technical game, he is absolutely sound.
“It’s the same thing with Joe Root, who is our best player.
“If Australia are going to hit you with the likes of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland, you are going to need a solid technique to stand up to that – then you can add the flair shots.
“I’ve done a bit of coaching with Harry and he is someone who works extremely hard. I really think we’ve got a serious player for the next 10 to 15 years.”
Bell’s work with Brook came 18 months ago during their time together at Hobart Hurricanes in Australia’s Big Bash League.
It proved a tough trip for Brook, who scored only 44 runs in seven innings, but within months he was churning out big scores in the Pakistan Super League and on the cusp of a dominant season of county cricket that propelled him into the Test arena.
“His numbers weren’t stacking up that well at the time but I remember talking to Harry and telling him that I saw a player who wasn’t a million miles away from England,” Bell recalled.
“I knew he was closer to being a Test player than he maybe thought and that he just needed to put the numbers together.
“He went away to the PSL, did brilliantly, hit the ground running when he came back to Yorkshire and he’s never looked back.”
If Brook comes close to the impact Bell had in 2013, England would be more than satisfied. Now 41 and working as a batting coach with Derbyshire, Bell talks fondly of his series-long hot streak against the Baggy Greens.
“I look back and think myself lucky to have won five Ashes out of seven, that’s a nice record to have, but to say you’ve won the Miller-Compton medal and been player of the series is just perfect,” he said.
“It all just came together but to have scored my hundreds when we were winning games is the best part. It was a great time and a dream come true as a kid growing up watching England take on Australia.”
“We have the manpower within the dressing room”- Sammy confident Windies can overcome 0-2 deficit against England
West Indies white ball head coach Daren Sammy says there’s still optimism in his camp that they can overcome the 0-2 deficit they currently face in their five-game T20I series against England.
The hosts lost the first two game of the series at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Saturday and Sunday, with the rest of the series now shifting to the Daren Sammy Stadium in St. Lucia beginning with the third T20I on Thursday.
“Most definitely, especially here in St. Lucia,” Sammy said in a pre-match interview on Tuesday regarding his team’s optimism ahead of Thursday’s must-win game and the rest of the series.
“Yes, England have played better cricket than us in these first two games but I’ve rallied St. Lucia to come out and be the 12th man that we need here. We just haven’t played the brand of cricket that has allowed us to win and it’s something that we’re going to address but we have the manpower within that dressing room to win on Thursday and take it one game at a time,” he added.
The West Indies will be without two key players for the rest of the series in Andre Russell and Shamar Joseph.
Russell suffered an ankle injury in the first T20I on Saturday and has been ruled out for the rest of the series while Joseph has left the squad to prepare for the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh starting on November 22 in Antigua.
Replacing the pair are all-rounder Shamar Springer and spearhead Alzarri Joseph, returning to the squad after serving a two-game suspension.
“It’s always a blow to replace somebody like Andre Russell. We have young Shamar Springer who made his debut in Sri Lanka to replace him. He’s a really exciting prospect,” Sammy said.
“Shamar will go in and get ready for the Test series and Alzarri is back from his suspension. We’re looking forward to welcoming him and the experience he brings to the squad. Yes, we lose two key guys but we get two guys who are capable of doing the job for the team as well,” he added.
Harwood-Bellis 'didn't quite believe' first senior England call-up
Taylor Harwood-Bellis revealed he was in a state of disbelief when he was told about his first call-up to the England senior team last week.
Harwood-Bellis, along with Newcastle's Lewis Hall, received their maiden Three Lions call-ups in Lee Carsley's final squad as interim head coach.
The Southampton defender has impressed under Russell Martin this season, featuring in all of their Premier League fixtures so far this season.
Harwood-Bellis has won more aerial duels (13) for the Saints in the top-flight this term, with only Jan Bednarek (888) completing more passes than the 22-year-old (684).
He is also someone well known to the interim boss from his time in charge of England's Under-21's side, with his 21 appearances more than any other player during Carsley's tenure in the current Three Lions squad.
"Lee Carsley rang me in the morning and said, 'you'll be with us, with the seniors'. I didn't quite believe it at first," he told a press conference.
"My partner was next to me and I phoned my dad, who was very proud. He loves when I play for England, even the younger age groups.
"One of the first people to message me was Aaron Ramsdale. I was happy to see his name as he's one of my mates at the club."
Unfortunately for Harwood-Bellis, Ramsdale has since pulled out of the squad with a finger injury and has been replaced by Burnley's James Trafford.
England travel to Athens to take on Group B2 leaders Greece on Thursday before returning to Wembley three days later as they square off against the Republic of Ireland.
With a number of first-team regulars out through injury, Harwood-Bellis has the opportunity to become the first Saints player to represent England since Kyle Walker-Peters did so back in 2022.
The defender understood the potential ramifications of performing well for the Three Lions during this international break, with Thomas Tuchel taking over in the new year.
"It will be a big motivation for all of the lads, knowing that there's a new manager coming in and wanting to keep your spot," he said.
"That's something that especially the younger lads will be pushing towards.
"It's going to be difficult because of the quality and experience in some of the lads that aren't here is massive.
"It'll be difficult, but it'll be something that I'll focus on week in and week out for Southampton and if I get minutes here."
Springboks aiming to have 'two best teams in the world', says Esterhuizen
South Africa centre Andre Esterhuizen said that the Springboks are aiming to have "the two best teams in the world" ahead of their Autumn Nations Series clash against England.
The world champions were pushed all the way by Scotland in their narrow victory at Murrayfield on Sunday, though head coach Rassie Erasmus opted to rotate some key starting positions.
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi and flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit started on the bench, with the changes a common theme during Erasmus' seven-year tenure.
Their opening Autumn Nations Series victory also put them back on top of the world rankings after Ireland's first defeat in 19 home games by New Zealand on Friday.
"One of the good things is that everyone is getting game time now," Esterhuizen told the BBC's Rugby Union Weekly podcast.
"It is also about looking forward, you've got to be able to spare all the guys for the next World Cup and build experience into it.
"The aim is to have the two best teams in the world, all in one squad.
"We want to make it second nature for people slotting in, so if someone steps in, they can just slot in and play the same if not better than the other player."
South Africa next face England, who are yet to pick up a win this autumn, at Twickenham on Saturday.
Steve Borthwick's side suffered a narrow two-point defeat by New Zealand, before conceding an injury-time winning try to Australia on Saturday.
England have now lost each of their last four Test matches, their longest such run since losing five straight games in 2018, but Esterhuizen's former Harlequins team-mate Marcus Smith has been impressive for the Red Roses.
"It's a great space, I obviously love to play there," Esterhuizen added. "It will be great to be running at Marcus, not run off him.
"It's going to be a great match, England have played well in the last few games, it's unfortunate that it hasn't been the results that they want. I think it's going to be a big one."
The Springboks have won three of their last four matches against England (L1), including each of their last two. Three of the last five games between England and South Africa have been decided by single-point margins.
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