England's Harry Brook Lives up to 'Superstar' Tag as he Mountains New Heights
Brook has more than 900 runs in Test cricket [Twitter]
Harry Brook is rewriting records in Test cricket after a stellar start to his international career. Hailed as a 'superstar' by the English media, Brook has truly lived up to the hype, as he continues his surge in the longest format of the game.
It's an irony that Brook wouldn't have been playing Test cricket for England had Jonny Bairstow not suffered a broken leg in September last year.
But as they say, one man's misery is another man's opportunity, and that's an apt statement in the case of Harry 'Freakish' Brook.
So when England were knocked out of the 2015 World Cup, they re-invented their style of play and brought in aggression, which was never seen in England cricket. The pioneers of new England cricket at that time were Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, to say the least.
When England cricket did the same thing in Tests, giving captaincy to Ben Stokes and appointing an aggressive leader in Baz Mccullum, they needed a 'Messiah' to carry forward the aggressive approach in Tests, and Harry Brook was the hand-picked choice for the captain-coach duo. So far, everything has gone according to the plan.
A special player in the making
What is Test cricket known for? It involves impeccable concentration level, high level of skills to tackle different conditions and a bit of technical aspects as well. However, Brook has redefined Test cricket and is making it look like a child's play with his aggression, swagger and the zeal to take down the opposition no matter what the circumstances are.
The world witnessed the rise of Harry Brook during England's tour of Pakistan in December. In three Test matches, the Yorkshireman accumulated 468 runs, which included three centuries. But his latest exploits in New Zealand's testing conditions has taken the world by storm.
Under testing conditions, the right-handed batter smashed 329 runs in four innings, including a stunning 186 at Wellington which made everyone stand on their feet as they witnessed a remarkable knock by a remarkable player.
Records Tumbled by Brook
So far, Brook has played 6 Test matches, and has garnered 809 runs, at an average of 80.90. But that's not the record. He broke the 30-year-old long standing record of Vinod Kambli, of scoring most runs after first nine Test innings. In addition, he went past some of the legendary cricketers, which includes Herbert Sutcliffe (780 runs), Sunil Gavaskar (778 runs), and Everton Weekes (777).
He has already hit twice as many sixes as some of the England greats - David Gower and Alec Stewart, and is just just five hits away from the tally of Graham Gooch, and interestingly all three of the players have participated in more than 100 Tests.
A level headed cricketer, Brook has achieved a lot in his short international career. But still just 24-years-old, Brook has a greater ceiling than some of the brightest talents in cricket at the moment. Don't be surprised if he becomes one of the all-time greats when he retires.
 "Anurag Dasgupta")
