One is an accomplished master whereas the other is an upcoming talent who has announced himself at the highest stage in a grand manner. One is already established his legacy whereas the other has taken little steps on the way to establishing his own legacy. The Joe Root and Harry Brook partnership at Multan is one for dreams. Both of them play for the same county, Yorkshire though they may not have played together too often. One has already become the highest scorer for England in Test cricket whereas the other may get there someday in the distant future. Overall, the batting on display was something that was tremendous to watch. Root goes about his batting in an unassumed manner without any of the extravagant shots though he has begun to play such shots eversince the initiation of Bazball. Brook is someone who is by nature an aggressive batsman.
Ofcourse, for a Pakistan fan, this was nothing short of humiliating. They can only blame their team and the PCB for producing a pitch that was full of runs. On such pitches, the current generation of English batsmen are not afraid to play their shots. They are not scared of getting out in the process. PCB must have prepared a pitch that is the anti-thesis of English batting. Spin. This blog is not about that ofcourse but is of the batting of Root and Brook.
Complimenting each other
Needless to say that it was the breathtaking partnership that resulted in the English victory. Without the pace and the deflating nature of those innings, the Test will end in a draw. Root treated the bowling with a little bit of respect but Brook on the otherhand, was completely and utterly ruthless. He did not spare any bowler and took a special liking to the Pakistan spinners. The flat nature of the pitch helped in a great deal. All he had to do was just plonk the foot down and go through the line of the shot. There wasn’t any bounce or movement of the air and hence, it was safe to play.
Having surpassed Alastair Cook to become England’s highest scorer in Test history, Root also went onto post his highest individual score of 262. He had a real opportunity to score his first triple hundred but perhaps, tiredness got the better of him. It is a record that will remain out of reach for the foreseeable future. It will not stand the test of time because eventually, someone will break the record. Root himself believes that Harry Brook who has got a complete game, will probably get there one day.
Comments about each other
“He’s got such a complete game. He can score all around the wicket, he plays seam well, spin well and high pace well, and that’s a pretty good recipe for scoring runs. I’m not surprised at all in him going on and doing something special like that, but I don’t think it’ll be the last time we see him with a monster score by his name.”
For his part, Brook also gave wholesome praise to his teammate at both Yorkshire and England.
“It makes you feel so comfortable when you’re watching him at the other end,” Brook said. “He makes the game look so easy when he’s playing the ball so late, and making the bowlers look so slow… We just tried to cash in on what was a good pitch.”
Brook’s 317 was only the 6th triple hundred by an English batsman. It was the first since Graham Gooch scored that mega 330 against India at Lord’s. It has taken more than 30 years for a English batsman to score a triple and it was influenced by the calming presence of Root at the other end as acknowledged by Brook.
Tremendous stamina and strength
Just about 6 months ago, when Brook was with his grandmother, he wanted to lose weight and get leaner and fitter. Hence, he ran and ran and ran to make himself super fit.
“That three-month period I had at the start of the year was massive for me,” Brook said. “I obviously lost a bit of weight, and tried to get as fit as possible by eating well, running and gymming.”
This showed in the number of non-boundary runs the pair scored. 199 singles, 55 twos and 11 threes. It required not just stamina and strength but great game awareness and single-minded focus. After lunch on the 4th day, he scored 99 of just 65 deliveries, especially, treating Salman Agha and Saim Ayub as club bowlers. They were dispatched to all part of the ground. Perhaps, 10 more overs, Brook could have broken England’s record for the highest scorer as well as the world record of Brian Lara.
Wrapping up the Root Brook partnership
Root has about a couple of years left in him during which time, Brook will do well to tap into his experience. For all that Brook and Root has done so far in Pakistan and in other parts of the world, they will be judged purely on the basis of their performance next year in Australia. Legacy is created and tarnished in Australia for England cricketers. Root despite multiple opportunities, is yet to score a hundred down under. Next year will be his final opportunity.
As for Brook, if he could carry on his form to Australia, not only would he have cemented himself into the next great Englsih batsman but would have helped England to regain the Ashes.
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