Brook could be one of the great middle-order players of this generation: Boycott

Former England opener Geoffrey Boycott has lavished praise on Harry Brook, stating that the young batter has the potential to be “one of the great middle-order players of this generation.”

Brook was a standout performer in the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series against India, scoring 481 runs at an average of 53.44, including a blistering 111 off 98 balls at The Oval in a nail-biting finish that saw India win by six runs.

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“I have believed for a long time that Harry Brook could be one of the great middle-order players of this generation,” Boycott wrote in his column for The Telegraph on Wednesday.

“Players like him do not come along too often, and he could end up in the same bracket as Wally Hammond and Denis Compton, who, according to everyone who saw them, were among England’s greatest. Harry has that special quality of somehow making batting look easy. Let me tell you, it is not. He is tall and that gives him long levers, so when he hits the ball, he has a lot of power and takes the game away from bowlers without slogging,” he added.

The 25-year-old’s ability to dominate bowling attacks was further acknowledged by India head coach Gautam Gambhir, who named Brook as England’s Player of the Series. Brook, who already has 10 Test centuries to his name, including a triple hundred, has accumulated 2,820 runs in just 30 Tests.

“Brook has such a wide range of strokes that when he gets going, he dominates bowlers, scoring in all areas. They are not sure where to bowl at him, and that is a wonderful situation to be in as a batsman. I have always believed that every team needs one genuine, unpredictable batsman who can do extraordinary things. Yes, they play daft shots occasionally, but we have to accept that because what you get in return is such a huge bonus. When it is their day, they are match-winners,” Boycott continued.

Looking ahead to England’s Ashes tour of Australia in November, Boycott expressed hope that Brook will adapt smartly to the conditions and situations rather than go on the attack blindly.

“I just hope Harry is going to be intelligent enough not to change his game, but just assess the situation and be a bit more careful. That is all he has to do. There will be times when Australia are bowling well and trying to butcher them will not be the smartest thing to do.

“He has a good defence on both the front and back foot so it is not as though he cannot stay in. He can let the moment pass when the bowlers are on top. It’s like playing chess. There are times when you have to sit in and wait for your moment, then explode. If he comes running down the pitch at people like Hazlewood and Cummins, then he will be asking for trouble, but if he assesses the situation, he can be successful in Australia,” he concluded.