At The End Of It I Was Tired Harry Brook On Captaining Against India

It has been more than a year since Harry Brook was appointed England’s white-ball captain. Under Brook’s captaincy, England reached the T20 World Cup semi-final in India followed by a loss in the semi-finals against the hosts. In recent months, England have scored a 4-0 win in T20I series and a 2-1 win in ODI series against India during the Indian tour to England last month and Brook has now spoken about how he was ‘tired’ after the T20I and ODI series against India and how him playing only as a batsman in The Hundred made him glad.

“Captaining is bloody hard. It takes a lot out of you. The way we played against India was awesome, but at the end of it, I was tired. And I was glad that I was coming back (to the Hundred) just as a batter,” Brook told Cricinfo in an interview.

Since his debut for England in 2022, Brook has become the fastest player to reach 3,000 Test runs in terms of balls faced when he achieved the feat in the Ashes against Australia early this year. The England batsman is currently ranked second in ICC Test rankings apart from being ranked eighth in ICC T20I rankings as well as 17th in ICC ODI rankings. Brook, who will be playing for his team Sunrisers Leeds in The Hundred Eliminator today at Headingley, had captained the team last season before stepping down from captaincy. Brook also spoke about how The Hundred sets the highest standards in English cricket. “The Hundred has the highest standard for sure in English domestic cricket. You’ve got four overseas players – they’re all international talents. You’ve got all the best players in the competition. They’re all pushing for certain spots and trying to get different franchise gigs, and it’s a good opportunity for a lot of players to push their case forward.” Brook said in the interview.

While Brook was the vice-captain under Ben Stokes captain, the young star had to wait for his turn for England Test captaincy with the England Cricket Board appointing Joe Root as the Test captain. Both Brook and Root play for Yorkshire and the duo have been playing in international cricket as well domestic cricket for a while. Brook shared about his bond with Root and how he bowed against Root in the nets at Yorkshire. “I remember bowling to him (Joe Root) for the first time in the nets down in the car park when I was 14; I don’t know why he was facing me. Obviously, they thought that I was a decent player and to go and watch him in the nets before a game would be a good idea. I went and had a little trundle to him. He’s a pretty cool bloke and good lad to have around. I always let him know that I got him out in that net session. I’ve played a hell of a lot of cricket with him now, and obviously played a fair amount for Yorkshire with him. And it just happens, doesn’t it? You spend more time with someone and [have] more conversations about the game, getting to know them more and even away from cricket, playing golf and going for coffee or whatever, it’s always good to spend time with him, and he’s a good lad and a good friend of mine,” Brook said.

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