Harry Brook’s winter has been dogged by unwanted headlines.
First, there was his raft of injudicious shots during the Ashes series defeat with former England seamer Stuart Broad lamenting the batter’s lack of game awareness after one particularly brainless dismissal to Mitchell Starc in the day-nighter at Brisbane.
Brook averaged a shade under 40 against Australia, with his two half-centuries including a top score of 84, but those numbers could, and should, have been higher.
Then, on the final day of the Ashes, shortly after England’s 4-1 loss had been sealed, news emerged that Brook had been fined and warned about his conduct by the ECB after a clash with a nightclub bouncer the evening before an ODI in New Zealand in November.
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Brook admits he was lucky to still be England white-ball captain after an altercation with a nightclub bouncer the night before a match in New Zealand
You could argue it was not England’s most embarrassing encounter with a bouncer of late – that prize probably goes to Jamie Smith for his inexplicable dismissal to a Marnus Labuschagne long hop at the SCG – but it was unedifying nonetheless.
When you factor in England’s awful ODI form – which has now been eased somewhat by a come-from-behind series win in Sri Lanka – then the pressure was cranking up on Brook, with the white-ball captain admitting bouncer-gate was lucky not to cost him his job.
Brook celebrates ‘Stone Cold-style’ – but ‘no malice’ intended
He was part of a big collapse in the first ODI against Sri Lanka that cost England the game, stumped for six amid a meltdown of 5-36, but two days later his gritty 42 off 75 balls, on a pitch he described as the worst he has ever played on, set up a decider. Three days after that he was back to his breathtaking best with a 57-ball ton.
And how did he choose to toast said century? By performing wrestling legend ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin’s infamous ‘beer smash celebration’, that’s how. The only difference was these were imaginary cans, not the real thing.
Still, after that incident in Wellington it raised eyebrows
Team-mate Joe Root said “no malice” was intended by Brook, telling reporters after the game: “He’s just trying to have a bit of a joke with his team-mates. Hopefully it’s received the right way.
“He was trying to show he wants approval from the group. I think that’s another area of why he’s going to be a great leader. It’s because he has that [humorous] side to him.”
Brook celebrated his latest ODI hundred like WWE legend ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin
After being accused of a lack of versatility in the Test arena, Root said Brook showed that exact trait, as well as calmness and clarity under pressure, in the 50-over domain as he followed a nuggety effort in the second ODI with a blistering innings in the third.
Brook crunched 11 fours and nine sixes in his 136 not out from 66 balls as he dominated a third-wicket stand of 191 from 113 deliveries with fellow centurion Root.
It took Brook 40 balls to reach fifty. Just 17 deliveries later he hit three figures. He began his innings with a deft four behind point, he ended it with a thumping six over cover. In between, he drove, pulled, lofted, placed, whipped and largely bludgeoned boundaries.
Sri Lanka had no answer. The only question was why a man this gifted had flattered to deceive in the Ashes. His game management was bang on here. Taking his time to get in before unloading, when against Australia he often tried to unload before he got in.
Brook guided England to a first away ODI series win since a 2-1 victory in Bangladesh in March 2023
Brook guides England to long-awaited away series win
Whether or not Brook was weighed down by that bouncer scuffle while batting in Australia we may never know but he has bounced back this far in the subcontinent, not only with the bat but also with his leadership and in the field.
Smart rotation of his spinners helped England roll Sri Lanka for 219 in the second ODI, while he took three catches in the series-sealing victory in the third as the home side’s batters played the sort of daft shots he had previously been guilty of himself.
Brook, and this is meant as a compliment, seems a fairly simple cricketer. So him being clutter-free in the mind and at his peak with the bat will be crucial for England over the next few months. There is a T20 series in Sri Lanka and then the T20 World Cup. What has been a tough winter for Brook could yet end up a highly successful one.
Brook says working in the nets with Joe Root (left) the day before the final Sri Lanka ODI reaped dividends
Root – player of the ODI series in Sri Lanka after knocks of 65, 71 and 111 not out – will play no part in the upcoming fun and games with Brook’s fellow Yorkshireman not involved in the T20 squads and now able to enjoy a rest before the first Test of the summer in June.
But he appeared to play a big part in Brook’s ODI ton in Colombo, with Brook saying at the presentation: “I was working on a few things with Rooty in the nets and thankfully it paid off.” Not for the first time, and surely not the last, England are indebted to Joe Root.
And we can all drink to that.
Follow live text commentary of England’s three-match T20 series in Sri Lanka on the Sky Sports app, starting with the opening game on Friday (from 1.30pm UK). Then watch the T20 World Cup live in full on Sky Sports from February 7, with England’s first fixture against Nepal in Kolkata on Sunday February 8 (9.30am UK).
