Harry Brook admits he didn't know the rank of England greats he joined with 317 innings
Leeds United fan Harry Brook has joined the ranks of England's cricketing legends, not even fully realising the elite company he entered with his triple-ton on day four of the first Test against Pakistan. The 25 year old whizzed his way to becoming the first English batter since Graham Gooch in 1990 to amass a 300-run score and entered a hallowed list of just six players to achieve such a feat.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Brook said: I knew about Gooch but I didn't know about the other ones. It feels pretty good. It was a good wicket and I just wanted to cash in as much as possible. I'm just glad the team is in a strong position to win the game tomorrow."
England went on to rack up their fourth-highest total in their Test history - a colossal 823 runs - declaring at seven down after Brook and Joe Root's historic 454-run partnership set the records tumbling. This phenomenal innings gave England a lead of 267, and by stumps, Pakistan found themselves in disarray at 152 for six, trailing behind by 115 runs.
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Reflecting on his time with fellow Yorkshireman Root out in the middle, Keighley-born Brook said: "We had a lot of fun out there. We didn’t do much to be fair. It was hot and hard work but we enjoyed it. What comforts you the most when you are out there is how easy he makes it look. To watch how slow he makes the game look comforts you at the other end."
Root himself chalked up an impressive 262 but modestly doubted reaching the 300 mark, explaining, "I wasn’t going to score quick enough to get there. It was all about getting in a position to have a real shot at winning this game," focusing firmly on victory rather than personal milestones.
"We knew we had to put the work in to get to this position and that last session, the way we bowled, was fantastic. You have to play on the fact they have been out there for long periods of time and the mental disintegration."
Root praised his county team-mate's rise to stardom, saying, "I knew how good he was going to be, it was just when he was going to figure it out," and added. "The pace he has matured into the player he is is probably the one thing which has probably shocked me. But at the same time it hasn’t because of his work ethic and the way he looks at the game.
"For someone with so little common sense outside of cricket the intelligence he has with a bat in his hand and his understanding of different scenarios and his own game is quite contrasting. To see him go and play like that today was awesome and to be stood at the other end was a real treat."