England’s Harry Brook can appreciate the appeal of a lucrative life as a T20 specialist but insists nothing will ever compare to the feeling of living out his Ashes dreams.
On Friday, Brook will fulfil a lifelong ambition when he takes the field against Australia in the first Test, a goal he has chased since he first started hitting balls as an infant.
Brook’s love of the sport comes from his upbringing in a devoted cricketing family from Burley-in-Wharfedale and, although he recently banked a cool £1.3million for a two-month stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League, he is clear where he feels the real riches are.
“This is absolutely a childhood dream. My dad always says as soon as I could talk I said that I wanted to play for England and here we are,” said the 24-year-old after a lengthy net session at Edgbaston.
“My dad and my two uncles and my grandad all played at my local club. It all stemmed from there really.
“I was growing up watching the very best players from England and Australia facing each other. Obviously the 2005 Ashes was a big one.
“I can always remember the over (Andrew) Flintoff bowled to (Ricky) Ponting and KP (Kevin Pietersen) smacking it everywhere against Warne and McGrath, those boys.
“You can understand why people don’t want to play Test cricket because there’s so many franchise competitions out there and there’s so much money you can get.
“It’s like being a footballer – you don’t play for five days, you get three months at home – but for me Test cricket is the pinnacle. The best players play Test cricket and the best players perform in Test cricket.”
Brook went from emerging prospect to one of the hottest properties on the planet over the winter, named player of the series during a historic whitewash over Pakistan after reeling off a hat-trick of hundreds in Rawalpindi, Multan and Karachi.
He followed with another in Mount Maunganui and, despite a disappointing IPL that saw one century among a string of low scores, the 24-year-old heads into his first meeting with Australia boasting a formidable record in the Test arena.
It is hard to say which is more eye-catching, his average of 81.80 or a strike-rate of 99.03, but combined they hint at a rare talent who is riding the crest of a wave.
Australia’s attack, by common consensus, represents a step up in intensity. So too the wider fanfare and scrutiny that comes with the Ashes platform.
But Brook retains a refreshingly unaffected view of his own role and is eager to throw himself into the challenge.
“The Australians might have a little bit of extra pace, but if they bowl quicker it tends to go to the boundary quicker,” he said with a grin.
“I’m just looking to play the ball and I’m not really bothered who’s bowling at me. It’s the same old ball coming down. Obviously, they’re good but it’s just another cricket ball coming at me.
“I’ve always wanted to play against the best players in the world and see how good I really am.”
His success as a stand-in for Jonny Bairstow forced England into a selection dilemma when the latter returned from a broken leg. In the end, Bairstow returned at the expense of wicketkeeper Ben Foakes.
Retaining the number five slot, the same position his fellow Yorkshireman had just enjoyed a career-best run of form prior to his injury, was a major show of faith in Brook and also a relief.
Some had advocated moving him up to the top of the order to accommodate Bairstow and Foakes, but his previous experiences at the head of the innings in county cricket left him wary about the prospect.
“There was obviously a lot of talk about me going up to opening the batting but thank God I’m not doing that. They never asked thankfully,” he said.
“Obviously it gives me a lot of confidence knowing I’m going to be batting five and they’ve backed me batting there.
“I feel like I’m more part of the team now, obviously as a deputy you don’t quite feel like you’re meant to be there if you know what I mean. So to have been contributing and gain a few match winning performances this winter has meant the world and I feel a big part of the team now.”
Chase outdone by opposite number Paudel as West Indies A suffer four-wicket loss to Nepal
West Indies A’s tour of Nepal got off to an unfortunate start, after they suffered a four-wicket loss to their host in a high scoring opening fixture of their five-match Twenty20 series at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, on Saturday.
Set a formidable 204 by West Indies A, Nepal’s thrilling victory, which was set up by a captain’s knock from Rohit Paudel, etched their names in the history books, as they successfully got to their target at 206-6 with two balls to spare.
Paudel smashed a 54-ball 112, including 10 fours and two sixes to see his team to a 1-0 lead in the series, which West Indies Head coach Darren Sammy said offers his team a chance to define roles and personnel more clearly for their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup squad.
However, the Caribbean side’s all-round effort was found wanting, as only captain Roston Chase (74), Alick Athanaze (47) and Keacy Carty (38) offered any resistance with the bat, while only Obed McCoy (2-34) and Matthew Forde (2-49) had some semblance of success with the ball.
Scores: West Indies A 204-5 (20 overs); Nepal 206-6 (19.4 overs)
Asked to take first strike, after losing the toss, West Indies A suffered an early blow, as they lost Johnson Charles (zero) off the last ball of the opening over, with 16 runs on the board. Andre Fletcher (13) stuck two sixes off five balls, before he too departed via the run-out route, leaving West Indies A at 43-2 in the fourth over.
However, Athanaze went about business, striking three sixes and five fours in a 25-ball knock, as he put on 43 for the third wicket with Chase, prior to his demise. From there, Chase and Carty added another 60 runs in a fourth-wicket stand that defined the innings.
Carty’s 38 off 26 balls, included two fours and three sixes, while Chase, who anchored the innings with a captain’s knock, struck nine fours and two sixes in his 46-ball 74. Kadeem Alleyne, on 14, and Keemo Paul, one, were left not out.
No Nepal bowler took more than one wicket.
With runs on the board, West Indies A would have felt confident of wrapping up a win, even more so, after Forde and McCoy combined to remove openers Anil Sah (five) and Kushal Bhurtel (16) to have Nepal at 38-2 in the fifth over.
West Indies remained in the ascendancy when Fletcher and Charles combined to run out Kushal Malla (16), leaving their host on the ropes at 82-3 at the halfway mark.
However, Paudel showed class, in not only reviving his team’s innings, but pushed them all the way with some aggressive stroke play, assisted by wayward bowling from West Indies A attack at times. Dipendra Singh Airee (24) offered support to his captain in getting Nepal across the line for a famous victory.
Bairstow hails 'ballistic' Kings after record IPL run chase
Jonny Bairstow saluted "ballistic" Punjab Kings following their historic Indian Premier League victory over Kolkata Knight Riders.
The England batter scored an unbeaten century as the Kings successfully chased down 262 - the highest in T20 history - with eight balls to spare at Eden Gardens.
Bairstow hit a wonderful 108 not out from 48 balls - with nine sixes along the way - while Shashank Singh chipped in with 68 from 28 deliveries as the Kings ended their four-game losing streak.
"We knew that we had to go ballistic after how they batted," said the 34-year-old, who made his second IPL century five years after his first. "We had to take risks, and thankfully they came off.
"I've never been faced with a target like that before. So, we knew the powerplay would be important, and if anything is close to being in your area, you've got to make the most of it."
The performances of Bairstow and Singh contributed towards further history, with the overall tally of 42 sixes the highest recorded in a single T20 match.
"Cricket has turned to baseball, hasn't it?!" Punjab skipper Sam Curran added. "Guys can hit balls for long periods of time, the coaches, training, the dew, dot balls become wide after reviews and you get the extra ball. Stats are going of the window."
KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer was left disappointed to see his side's impressive haul overturned, but urged his team-mates to learn from the experience.
"Both teams played tremendously. You have to go back to the drawing board and see where you went wrong," he said. "Not defending hurts, but it's a great lesson for the players."
Mottley renews call for Windies women to be treated equally to male counterparts
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has once again encouraged Cricket West Indies (CWI) to invest and reward the region’s female cricketers in the same manner as the men.
Mottley, who first made the call last year, used the platform on Thursday’s opening day of the CARICOM conference on West Indies cricket themed ‘Reinvigorating West Indies Cricket’, to once again lobby for more attention to be paid to women’s cricket.
“It is the young people and I’m happy that finally it is not just boys, but boys and girls who will become the men and women who can become these global citizens with Caribbean roots. My heart filled with pride this week when Hayley Matthews was heralded by Wisden as the T20 Cricketer of the Year, and it did so because Mr. President, when you and I first met when you took over, it was actually International Women’s Day, March 8, and I asked you then to start the journey of removing the discriminatory practices between men and women,” Mottley said at the event in Trinidad and Tobago.
“Practices that go as far as the quality of the coverage and the camera covering the game, meaning that it becomes less alluring to those who may not be fully engaged purely because when you look at IPL and you look at the women playing cricket in many other jurisdictions it just doesn’t even look the same. That cannot be a metaphor for our own development and the fact and the obligation of removing the discrimination that exists between men and women’s cricket is absolutely critical,” she added.
Mottley declared her belief that the time was right for a historic mixed-gender cricket game to be played in the region.
“I have said to you, and I offer you now publicly again, that Kensington Oval, that iconic ground, could be a location where we break new ground again in history by having a mixed-gender game, recognizing that in the Olympics you’re going to soon have mixed gender relays and we don’t need to wait on others to lead us, but we can resume the leadership in ensuring that as the game has evolved from Test, to 50-over, to T20, to the increase in women’s cricket, that ultimately that will soon be the next step,” she shared.
On that note, the Prime Minister, pointed out that it was also important that opportunities be created for not only male and female cricketers, but for persons who have skills in other areas.
“We have an obligation to be able to level the field by the investments that we have to make in this sport, recognizing that not all may make the team and wear that maroon, but all can participate at different levels to make a living," Mottley noted.
“Whether it is exporting persons to help in coaching across the world…whether it is through the ability of us to have as many of our youngsters play. Whether it is in the creation of the supply of world class and first-class umpires, whether it is in people who are in the business of keeping the field, the outfield and the pitches in good form, or in the ability to sell pitches to the United States of America instead of them buying from Australia. Whatever it is, we must plan now the careful investment that will allow us to see this as a viable productive and economic sector," she ended.
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