Pakistan’s national statistics office organized its inaugural ‘Information Festival’ conference today, 10 minutes from the England Hotel in Islamabad. Below Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes, this England set-up has shown a modicum of interest in numbers, but there is one figure who stands out proudly in their decider in sight of Rawalpindi: 101.25, Harry Brook’s batting average in Pakistan.
It has been two years since Brook emerged as a Check cricketer with an outrageous maiden hundred in Rawalpindi. He used to be England’s fourth centurion as they piled up 506 for 4 in the first hour in their form against Pakistan, and eventually fell for 153 off 116 balls in the second the next morning, plundering 27 off an over from Zahid Mahmood.
He followed that innings with massive crowds in England’s victories in Multan and Karachi, an extension of a great run of strategy in Pakistan that had started with a century in the 2022 PSL and continued with a step forward in T20I form. Not since Kevin Pietersen has an England batsman made such a convincing start to his Check career.
Brook began the form with 317 at Multan in his comeback, a mammoth innings that was England’s easiest in 34 years. But more than 500 kilometers away, in Peshawar, Sajid Khan was watching closely on television and saw Brook spinning again. When he was called up for the second Test, Sajid devised a plan to pull the ball sharply out of the difficult ones.
“There was a small piece outside the stump,” Sajid explained. “When he faced his first ball, I told Rizi bhai [Mohammad Rizwan] “If he plays like that again, I’ll take him out.” Brook was again left as Sajid predicted, trying to get through the barricade, but was crushed inside the boundary by a ball that saved low and had his leg stump hit again.
Brook also played from the back in England’s second innings, this time off left-arm spinner Noman Ali. He sat deep in his crease at a full ball, trying to spin it over midwicket, but was fooled by the low hop and caught lbw. With rankings of 9 to 16, this used to be Brook’s least successful check in Pakistan – his first without a hundred and his first defeat.
Brendon McCullum, the England maestro, smiled at the second check when he heard Sajid was revealing his plans to Brook. “Did he do it? Well pitched,” McCullum said. “He is a very exciting cricketer and a great player for us as well, and he is trying to put pressure on the opposition… Sometimes when you do that, you make mistakes and you run away.”
A calm test immediately after three hundreds is not enough to suggest long-term considerations, but Brook mentioned on Tuesday that he has been discussing game plans for Sajid and Noman ahead of this moment’s decider. “Obviously both are going to play a very important role on their team,” he mentioned. “Hopefully it will pay off and I will play a big part in the game.”
Brook states with Sajid’s overview of his decision to play post-base derivative games. “I like it,” he mentioned. “It gives you a lot more time to play the spin ball. It gives you different areas to play in. I’m not saying I’m not going to do that: I’m going to look to play from the back, and I’m going to try to put him under pressure.”
It’s rarely a problem that has plagued him throughout his Test career: per hour, Brook averages more in spin (67.81) than seam (57.70). But the reason his two errors were important was that, having ignored England’s trip to Bharat in a compassionate fall, this was the first error that played on a pitch firmly in favor of the spinners.
England put on a six-hit festival at their final training meeting in Rawalpindi on Wednesday morning, with Brook completing a similar second to Rehan Ahmed. Stokes said the effort was to “generate good vibes” for the next three weeks, largely limited to two hotels and two stadiums, but also served as a reminder of Brook’s tragic power.
It is simply forgotten that Brook has still only played 20 Tests, such was the pace at which he was an all-format regular for England. He has a stellar record, averaging less than 60, but more on the road. “Generally speaking, it’s a baby,” said Jason Gillespie, a professor from Pakistan. “He will sort things out in all conditions – good players tend to do that.”
This has been a long season for Brook: since early April, he has been more or less continuous, making 35 appearances across formats, including eight Tests, five ODIs as stand-in captain and one T20 World Cup. In any case, Thursday’s Rawalpindi Test will take him to a similar level, although he will only have a shorter fracture before England travel to Zealand.
As a three-format player, Brook is becoming aware of the relentlessness of the global agenda and will soon become fighters focused on what they see as potential weaknesses. If he can overcome both hurdles and maintain his all-important three-figure form in Pakistan, he will go a long way against England achieving this form.
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