"I’m going to try and take him on" - Harry Brook vows a ruthless approach against Nathan Lyon in the Ashes
England's rising star Harry Brook has settled well into the Test setup and continues to feature following Jonny Bairstow's return from injury. The youngster is set for his maiden Ashes experience and has had a credible start to his Test career so far, averaging over 80 after seven Tests.
Following prolific away series in Pakistan and New Zealand, the upcoming Ashes against a well-polished Australian attack comes across as Brook's biggest Test so far. Batting in the middle order, he will be up against Nathan Lyon, who has a decent record in England over the years.
Proclaiming that he will respect the good deliveries and at the same time try to punish the spinner when he errs, Brook said ahead of the first Ashes Test:
“If he bowls a good ball then I’m going to respect it. But other than that, I’m going to try and take him on. He could get a lot of wickets, but hopefully we’re going to hit him for a lot of runs."
He continued:
“I’d like to think I’m a player who can find gaps and hit different gaps, I try and play all around the wicket. I’ll see whatever field he has; I’m sure they’ll probably start with everybody up and we’ll go from there.”
Harry Brook has retained his place in the playing XI from the one-off Test against Ireland at Lord's. He is expected to feature in the middle order alongside the likes of Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow and the returning Moeen Ali.
“It’s a different format, different environment" - Harry Brook shrugs off concern over poor IPL campaign
Harry Brook was one of the biggest acquisitions at the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) mini-auction. He was roped in by the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) for a massive sum of ₹13.25 crore.
Despite scoring a hundred in the initial stages of the tournament, he had an overall poor campaign with the bat as the franchise finished last in the points table for the second time in three years.
Brook scored 190 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 123.38. He was initially slotted in the middle order before being promoted to the top but was eventually dropped from the playing XI following a string of poor scores.
Citing that his IPL performances came in a different format compared to red-ball cricket, Brook said:
“It’s a different format, different environment. I’ve said plenty of times that this environment’s the best I’ve been in and I’m going to go out there and be fearless.”
Expressing his delight at the prospect of playing his first Ashes Test, he added:
"It's definitely a dream come true to be involved in my first Ashes. 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 (Shane) Warne and (Glenn) McGrath, those boys."
England will host Australia in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham from Friday, June 16, onwards.
Will Harry Brook have a landmark series against Australia in the Ashes? Let us know what you think.