Photo courtesy: IANS
In the opening game of their T20I series against New Zealand at Chester-le-Street, young cricketer Harry Brook did no harm to his prospects of receiving a late call-up to England’s squad for this year’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
Brook, a glaring omission from England’s provisional World Cup roster announced earlier this month, has responded favourably to the news with a succession of outstanding performances, according to ICC.
The right-hander, who last week hit a century in his final match of England’s domestic T20 series, then helped his team defeat the Kiwis by a comfortable seven wickets with an impressive 43* from just 27 deliveries.
Advertisement
The World Cup final squad must be submitted to the International Cricket Council (ICC) by September 28. England captain Jos Buttler said earlier this month that Brook still had a remote chance of making the team, but his performance against New Zealand demonstrated that he is currently in excellent form.
With six overs remaining, England was able to defeat New Zealand’s modest score of 139/9 thanks to Brook, Dawid Malan (54), and Liam Livingstone (10*). Brook hit two fours and three sixes during his knock.
Buttler was taken aback by Brook’s poise and is aware that the young player is still part of England’s long-term plans, whether or not those plans involve inclusion at the 2019 50-over World Cup.
Advertisement
“(Harry Brook) is a class player,” Buttler told the BBC after play.
“No-one is saying they don’t rate him or think he is a superstar.
“He has been a key part of the T20 side for the best part of a year and will be a key part for the next 10 years.”
Glenn Phillips, a middle-order batsman, led all scorers for the visitors with 41 runs, while attacking opener Finn Allen (21) was the only other player to reach the 20-run mark, according to New Zealand skipper Tim Southee.
“It was no doubt not our best effort, but we’ve got a couple of days to turn it around,” Southee said ahead of the second match of the series in Manchester on Saturday.
“The way they took early wickets stalls any momentum but our assessment of the wicket was probably a bit off, and with the ball we just had to try and take as many wickets as we could.”
-IANS
Advertisement
