'Special' Harry Brook could be England's trump card at T20 World Cup

Brook in action [PC: Associated Press]

Harry Brook is a special, special player and there is no doubt about it. 

The talent was always there within him, but it needed to be nurtured and Yorkshire County Cricket Club did just that. A former England Under-19 captain, Brook announced himself as a player with a bright future with a remarkable T20 Blast season in 2020, averaging more than 55 and striking at 163 in the group stage games, despite batting in the middle order.

Touted as the future of England cricket, Brook was cut from a different cloth as his game awareness, skillsets were different from the other batters. He had flickered in Yorkshire colours over the first couple of years, most notably when he scored his maiden first-class century at Chelmsford in 2018.

Often known as a crafty cricketer, Brook made considerable changes to his game and brought in array of shots to suit the modern game (T20 cricket). The 23-year-old Yorkshire lad proved his mettle in the recently concluded County Championship and it opened the door for his maiden England Test call-up.

Brook had averaged 107 in 8 County Championship matches and the world took notice of him, and so did Brendon McCullum and Benjamin Stokes. He had a mediocre outing with the bat in his only Test innings, but good things were about to come for him.

England toured Pakistan for a seven-game T20I series and Brook was added in the depleted England squad. Interestingly this was not his first assignment as a T20I player. The dashing batter made his much awaited T20I debut against West Indies in January 2022, and it was fair to say that he batted way down the order to justify his talent.

But as they say, you can't keep a good player down for long

Brook in full flow [PC: Associated Press]

Pakistan conditions provided a different challenge for the England side and Brook was up for it in a flash. In 7 gruelling matches, Brook amassed 238 runs, at an average of 79 and most importantly, struck at a strike-rate of 163.

But sometimes the numbers don't depict the entire story. Numbers are deceptive. There are certain things which are way more important than statistics. His 7 outings proved that Brook is not just a wonder boy who will get lost in the shuffle. He showed great maturity, he showed great calmness and certainly cemented the number 5 slot in the upcoming World Cup.

Former England cricketer, Nasser Hussain opined that there's no way you can leave Brook out of the playing XI.

"In that first World Cup game against Afghanistan, Brook must be pencilled in at number 5. He is a serious talent."

"Harry Brook will be a superstar in all formats. His run getting over the last couple of years for Yorkshire has been prolific and I think it will continue," Hussain added.

With the likes of Ben Stokes returning at number 4 for the World Cup, you need a level-headed player at 5 and all the England fans reckon that they have found the missing piece in the form of Brook. You keep on talking about Buttler, Stokes, Livingstone, but this guy (Brook) is the real deal for England and holds all the aces ahead of the mega event.

[Watch] OneCricket's promo video for the upcoming T20 World Cup

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