Nottingham [UK], May 23 (ANI): Former England cricketer Michael Atherton is mesmerised by “amazing player” Harry Brook’s enchanting outing with the bat on the second day of the one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge.
After England’s top-order troika, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope notched a century each. Brook came in and added the firepower with his swashbuckling 58 from 50 deliveries, laced with six fours and three towering maximums.
His effort served as the extra fuel which powered the hosts to 565/6, a total that skipper Stokes felt was enough to declare on. With The Ashes in mind, Atherton believes in one of the oldest rivalries, Brook would need to temper his approach against Australia, but he quickly added a line praising the 26-year-old.
“Brook is an amazing player to watch – and so hard to bowl to. If you are slightly off target, he has all the shots, and he is so good that he puts the good balls away,” Atherton said as quoted from Sky Sports.
“He has touch and is an incredibly hard square cutter. Australia may test him with the shorter ball in The Ashes, and he may have to temper his approach at times – but what a player he is,” he added.
Last month, Brook was handed England’s white-ball captaincy after Jos Buttler decided to step down from the responsibility after the conclusion of the Champions Trophy earlier this year. Brook, who has been part of the white-ball setup since 2022, has been pivotal to England’s batting lineup across formats.
Currently ranked number two in the ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings, Brook has spent the past year as vice-captain in both ODI and T20I formats. He made his captaincy debut against Australia last September in Buttler’s absence, earning praise for his tactical awareness and calm leadership.
The series was closely contested, with Australia taking the honour with a 3-2 win. The burden of captaincy also did not seem to affect Brook as he top-scored in the series with 312 runs in five matches at an average of 78.00 and a strike rate of over 127, with a century and two half-centuries. (ANI)
