The former England captain across formats, Joe Root, has ignored both the veterans Virat Kohli and Steve Smith to address his current national team-mate, Harry Brook, as the best batter of the world. He reckons that the Yorkshire batter has established himself, especially in the red-ball format, in such a short period.
The comments of Joe Root have come on the back of the impressive outings of Brook in their Test trip to New Zealand, where he smashed two back-to-back centuries at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch and the Basin Reserve in Wellington. The first 171-run knock in 197 balls came when the side was struggling at 71/4.
The Ben Stokes-led side was again under tremendous pressure at the start when the 25-year-old drilled a 123-run knock in 115 balls to bail out the visitors during the second game from the position of 4/43. Both of the knocks helped the side in getting an unbeaten 2-0 series lead.
Joe Root impressed with the all-round batting of Harry Brook
Harry has already grabbed 2280 runs in 38 Test innings at an average of 61.62 with the help of ten half-centuries and eight centuries at the best score of 317. It’s now his third-highest average among all the batters with at least 20 innings. The punishing strike rate of 88.57 has put him ahead on the list.
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Joe Root, the number one batter in the rankings of the International Cricket Council (ICC), has been fighting with Brook, who, at present, sits in second place. The latter has been consistent with the bat in all the series he has been part of.
“If you asked me, Brooky is by far and away the best player in the world at the minute. He has such an all-round game: he can absorb pressure, he can apply it, he can whack you over your head for six, he can scoop you over his head for six, he can smack spin, he can smack seam.” The top-order England batter claimed in the presser.
Joe Root had a poor start in the series, but he thumped his 36th century of the format to equal the former Indian wicket-keeper batter, Rahul Dravid, as he is just around 500 runs away to go past Ricky Ponting to become the second leading run-scorer in the longest format of the game.
Brook has gone through an incredible 2024 year with 1099 runs in 18 innings at an average of 61.06 and a strike rate of 85.39 with the help of four centuries and three fifties. The Blackcaps have already been his favorite opponent side, with an average of 96.86 in seven innings.
“I’m trying to catch him, but he’s too good, isn’t he? He’s got another hundred this week, and he’s one of the best players, if not the best player, to have ever played the game. It’s mega to play with him, and he’s awesome to watch.” Harry expressed.
“I’ve only played 22 or 23 games, whatever, so those stats can soon come soaring down. I’m just trying to keep on getting as good as I can, working hard in the nets, and improving uncomfortable areas. You can always get better everywhere.” He highlighted.
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Joe Root, on being nominated for a shortlisted place of the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year, has displayed his surprise at the honor.
“It’s been a wonderful year of sports, so to even be considered is pretty humbling, to be honest. I don’t know how to sum it up. (Hopefully) a few Yorkies. If you can dial in. It’s a free number, so maybe I’ll get a few votes.” The veteran hoped.
The third Test of the ongoing New Zealand series will take place on December 14 at Seddon Park in Hamilton, and Joe Root will be aiming to extend his target toward Sachin Tendulkar’s tally.