Harry Brook called out (Source: AFP)
Harry Brook fired a boisterous 91 against Pakistan to orchestrate England’s emphatic innings victory at Leeds last week. Holding a prolific average of over 50 and with a strike rate of nearly 90 in Test cricket, the 27-year-old has been surprisingly called out for his apparent arrogant behavior by England great Geoffrey Boycott.
According to Boycott, Brook has the ability to be in the same batting league with some of the greatest of the game like Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara. However, the England white-ball skipper often tends to throw away his wicket in haste, according to the former English opener.
Boycott says Harry Brook has the potential to match Tendulkar, Lara
While speaking on the Geoffrey Boycott: An Extraordinary Innings podcast, the former England opener praised Harry Brook for his impeccable track record with the bat across all formats.
Moreover, Boycott even believes that Brook has the talent to do much more and can match the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara.
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He said “I haven't seen anybody with the talent he's got for a long time. Enormous talent. The timing, the shot playing, he's tall, big reach, but his thinking is just unbelievable. sIf he wants to carry on playing that way, he'll have a decent career, but he has the ability, if he could think better, to be in the realms of Lara and Tendulkar. And, whoa, that's a bit special.”
However, the cricketer-turned-commentator is also of the opinion that Harry Brook can get reckless at times, especially in ODI cricket. According to Geoffrey Boycott, the explosive English batter tends to get dismissed with needless shots in the format.
Boycott believes “But he plays one-day cricket to every ball. He doesn't have a look at the ball; he has to bash the first ball. He'll just keep getting caught at mid-off and mid-on and daft places.”
Geoffrey Boycott recalls getting ignored by Brook
Boycott further recalled the time when Harry Brook’s uncle visited him last year. The prominent commentator claimed that his uncle requested him to have a word and offer some advice to the national white-ball skipper.
He said “His uncle came to me last year. He asked me what I thought of him. I told him exactly this. He said, 'Really?' I said, 'Yeah.' I said that much ability is rare, special.”
However, Geoffrey Boycott later stated that while he gave his contact number, he is yet to receive any call for advice from the England cricketer himself.
Boycott stated “He said, 'Would you have a word with him?' I said, 'It's not for me to go to him. But if he asked me, of course I'd help. Why would I not? I gave him my number and never heard a word.”
Harry Brook remains number one ranked Test batter
Contrary to Geoffrey Boycott’s claims, Brook remains one of the most prolific all-format batters in the world. The explosive English cricketer continues to remain the number one ranked Test batter in ICC rankings with 874 rating points.
Brook’s proficient run can be evident by his recent Test winning knock against the visiting Pakistan cricket team at Headingley in Leeds.
The right-hander is also one of the few batters in the world at the moment to be ranked among the top 20 players across all formats in ICC rankings.
In T20Is, he is ranked eighth and is one of three active Englishmen to be placed among the top 10 T20I batters. In 50-overs internationals, Harry Brook is ranked 17th after having recently leapfrogged India’s KL Rahul on the latest ICC charts.
That said, the 27-year-old can improve his game further in ODI cricket, as claimed by the prominent England commentator.
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