PCA Young Player of the Year sets sights on higher recognition after breakthrough summer

Matt Roller29-Sep-2021″I think Harry Brook likes the big time. I think he can be big time!” Kevin Pietersen tweeted. “He’s not scared of any situation, he’s not frightened of any bowler and he just sticks to what works for him,” Ben Stokes said. “I don’t think it will be too long before we see him wearing the Three Lions.”Endorsements don’t get much better within English cricket and Harry Brook knows it. “They’re pretty big dogs, aren’t they?” he laughs. “For them to be saying stuff like that and rating me as a cricketer is really good. I’m quite a level-headed person, so I don’t let stuff get to me but… yeah, it’s nice for people to say nice things.”Related

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Brook’s breakout summer across formats has invited that praise and ends with him adding his name to the distinguished list of winners of the men’s Young Player of the Year prize at the cinch PCA awards.He made more runs across the T20 Blast and the Hundred than any other English player, averaging 61.36 and striking at 150.33 from the middle order; he came into the season with a first-class average a shade under 25 but finished it as Yorkshire’s second-highest run-scorer in the County Championship.”I wrote a few things down at the start of the season – a few aims for the year, what runs I wanted to get in different formats,” Brook recalls. “I got all them targets so I was very happy with it. I do it every season really, but I think this is the first year I’ve actually hit them goals. It’s just trying to know what a good season is before actually starting it. I think it’s nice to set goals and if you smash them, it’s a really good feeling.”If the numbers alone are impressive, Brook’s style adds to the feeling he is a player with a bright international future ahead of him. Pietersen was particularly impressed by the power he generates from his strong wrists during the Hundred, and while he has shown glimpses of his innovative game – a dinked reverse-paddle off Saqib Mahmood in his 91 not out against Lancashire in the Blast stands out – his power hitting through and over cover sets him apart from his peers.Brook picks out two innings as his favourites of the summer; surprisingly, neither is from the Hundred, where he starred for Northern Superchargers before being ruled out of their final group games after contracting Covid-19. “The Championship hundred against Northants, which was a must-win game for us to get through on a difficult pitch – that was definitely one of them,” he says. “And then I got 83 against Worcester in the T20 when we were right in the dumps – me and Jordan Thompson put on a big partnership. Them two games were probably the highlights of my season.”Brook described his Championship hundred against Northamptonshire as a season highlight•Getty ImagesBrook’s T20 breakthrough was all the more impressive for the fact it came from the middle order. Most young batters in the English game have burst through with the cushion of the Powerplay boosting their strike rates but the vast majority of Brook’s runs came from No. 4 or 5, rotating against spin before cashing in against pace at the death.”This year Galey [Andrew Gale, Yorkshire’s coach] came up to me and said ‘you’re going to bat four or five’ so I went straight into that role and started off quite well. I like coming in after the Powerplay and just knocking it about for a bit – I’ve always been fairly good at rotating the strike.”I used to want to open the batting but I think that’s gone out the window now – I’ve really enjoyed batting in the middle order. Usually you’re still there at the end of the game and if you’re knocking the runs off, you end up getting a not out. It’s a good feeling being able to knock them off for your team.”Test cricket is the pinnacle of cricket still, for me,” he insists. “I definitely want to play Test cricket, [but also] in as many competitions as possible. The IPL is on at the minute and it’s just so good. The standard is ridiculous and when they get crowds back to full, it just looks unbelievable, so I’d really like to play in that – and obviously white-ball for England as well.”As for the winter, Brook has his eye on warmer climes. “I don’t really want to be at Headingley in the rain and the cold, so hopefully I’ll be away somewhere,” he smiles. He has his eye on England Lions’ tour to Australia, Covid restrictions permitting, and has attracted some interest from BBL teams, with Hobart Hurricanes believed to be frontrunners to sign him.If Brook feels like he has the world at his feet, the recent struggles of Tom Banton, his former England Under-19 team-mate who won the PCA award two years ago, provide a note of caution and a reminder to soak in everything that comes his way. “You play a lot better when you’re enjoying it and you’ve got a smile on your face,” he says, “so you do all the hard yards behind the scenes and then enjoy it when you’re on the field.”

The captain and chief selector have indicated there is plenty to play for over the next few weeks

Andrew McGlashan26-Jun-2021Josh PhilippePhilippe, who has been one of the standout players in the BBL over the last two seasons, made his debut on the tour of New Zealand earlier this year. He twice got himself set with promising scores in the 40s – both coming at impressive strike rates too, as he batted at No. 3 – and in the absence of David Warner and Steven Smith for this tour, it seems likely he will get further chances at the top of the order. He did not keep wicket in that series, that role went to Matthew Wade, but if all ten T20Is take place, there could be a chance to see him there. With the logjam for top-order spots, though, he still faces being squeezed out of the final World Cup squad, but with uncertainty over Smith’s elbow, a strong few weeks would come at a good time.Dan ChristianIt would be a terrific story if Christian makes the World Cup. And it now feels like he has a solid chance despite being a last-minute addition to this tour. The area Australia have most struggled to nail down is the middle-order batting positions and national selector Trevor Hohns, captain Aaron Finch and his BBL coach Greg Shipperd have lauded his ability to close innings. Christian was given the option as to whether he wanted to give up his Nottinghamshire T20 deal and go through two weeks’ quarantine ahead of this trip but said it was never in question.Related

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Riley MeredithLike Philippe, Meredith got his first chance in New Zealand where he caught the eye with his pace and twice pinned Kane Williamson lbw. He is likely already in the frame for the World Cup but fast bowling is an area Australia are well-served in. However, in the absence of Pat Cummins, Kane Richardson and Jhye Richardson, you would imagine Meredith will have a decent amount of game time to further his case. While Cummins is a certain starter at the World Cup, Meredith has the opportunity to push the two Richardsons given their decision to opt out of the trip.Mitchell SwepsonSwepson was one of the standout bowlers of the last Australian season with white and red ball. He returned to the national side in the T20Is against India where he claimed five wickets in three matches, but was then a victim of bubble life as he spent weeks as a travelling back-up in the Test group. When finally able to play again, he finished the BBL strongly with the Brisbane Heat – forming a legspin pair with Marnus Labuschagne – and then was picked in the Test squad to tour South Africa ahead of the T20I series in New Zealand. However, even if the South Africa trip had gone ahead, he would have been ruled out with a stress fracture in his neck. Now he has the chance to push his white-ball claims again having moved back above Tanveer Sangha in the pecking order. With enlarged squads a possibility for the World Cup, there could be room for three specialist spinners.Josh HazlewoodWhen Hazlewood faced India in Canberra last year, it was just his ninth T20I in more than seven years since making his debut. It’s a format he has never quite found a home in – the metronomic line and length that is such an asset in Tests and one-day cricket perhaps perceived as a weakness (along with Australia’s desire to manage their fast bowlers). He could get a few more chances on this tour to show what he can bring to the T20 side and make a case for inclusion in the World Cup party. But, while T20s are the main focus over the next few weeks, there are also three ODIs in the West Indies with important World Cup qualifying points on offer.

Delayed gratification comes to those who push on through the suffering – just look at Williamson’s men

Andrew Miller23-Jun-20212:08

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It takes something extreme for BJ Watling to display any anguish on a cricket field, so when, in the crunchy closing stages of a gripping morning session, he stuck out a hand to gather a wayward shy from Kane Williamson and immediately ripped off his gauntlet in a state of mild panic, the omens were instantly grim. Sure enough, the physio, Tommy Simsek, rushed out to manipulate Watling’s dislocated ring finger back into place – a procedure every bit as wince-inducing as the patient made it look – and though he soldiered on to the interval, it was his deputy Tom Blundell who took his place in the team huddle after lunch.Watling, however, is not a man you would want to leave behind in the final battle of a campaign. Even before NZC could amend their tweet confirming the extent of his injury, he had rushed back down the pavilion steps, shunted Blundell back to the margins, and reclaimed his place behind the sticks for the final session of his 75-match, 12-and-a-half-year Test career.Related

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Bravery and foolhardiness are basically one and the same. For this was a day for digging deep, something that this magnificent New Zealand team does better than almost any outfit in the world. One final busting of the gut, an exhortation to cast aside the fripperies of physical injury, and tap instead into the emotional hurt that New Zealand have known only too personally in their last two ICC global finals.Watling was not a part of those dressing-rooms in Melbourne in 2015 or Lord’s four years later. But then nor was Neil Wagner, another man who knows only too well that pain is transient but glory eternal. Against Pakistan in Mount Maunganui in December, Wagner had his boot crushed by a Shaheen Shah Afridi yorker but bowled on through the pain, claiming two wickets in each innings in a bid to stave off a rare defeat.And so it was fitting that such a doughty pair would combine – for one final time in Watling’s immense career – to deliver the breakthrough that truly set New Zealand on their way to glory. In ordinary circumstances, the presence of Ravindra Jadeja at No. 7 might have seemed a place too high; in extraordinary circumstances, such as those that transpired on this pulsating final day – and indeed, in the two sides’ last ICC meeting, at Old Trafford in the World Cup semi-final – he was exactly the sort of brawler to meet the needs of India’s hour.Tommy Simsek manipulated Watling’s dislocated ring finger back into place, a procedure every bit as wince-inducing as the patient made it look•Getty ImagesAnd that hour after lunch was Test cricket at its zenith. A wounded India team, rightly recognising the dangers of becoming becalmed in the third innings – a lesson that England’s final-day defeat in Adelaide 15 years ago has etched into the sport’s lore, exactly as India’s Kolkata miracle in 2001 changed forever teams’ attitudes towards the follow-on. Merely sitting in your foxholes in such circumstances, digging for survival but in truth waiting for the one with your name on it, does a team no favours when the inevitable comes to pass. A counter-attack of some description was mandatory. Scalp a lead, however it may come, and defend it for your life thereafter.And so it came down to that gritty, grotty hour after lunch, as Wagner rumbled in with his dog-eared, 60-over ball, aided and abetted by the high-kicking immensity of Kyle Jamieson at the other end. The pair of them charged with closing India’s routes back to parity while burgling a few breakthroughs to build on New Zealand’s three-wicket morning.The lead was 98, the die was cast, and Watling’s fingers were numb as he all but fumbled Jamieson’s second ball of the session, a glove-thumping lifter that might have been designed to ask the question: “are you you’re still up to this?”. Wagner, inevitably, made it his business to ask the follow-up questions, thundering through the middle of the pitch as Pant – with perfectly ludicrous logic – reversed his stance and rolled his wrists on a pull through third man, the obvious percentage option with a phalanx of leg-side catchers scattered for the conventional top-edge.Jadeja’s part in their 33-run stand – the second-largest of the innings – was muted by his standards but vital, as he willed himself to withstand Wagner’s bombs as New Zealand’s requirement was stretched into 110s. But then he was done in by the fractionally fuller length – the short ball that wasn’t, after all – and with his weight inevitably deep in his crease, Wagner’s exaggerated angle from around the wicket brought the edge into play, and Watling, in the clutch moment, made no error as he nudged ahead of MS Dhoni with his 257th and final Test catch.Watling had begun his fielding stint with a handshake from Virat Kohli after announcing at the start of the tour that this Test would be his last. Ross Taylor, by contrast, chose to wait until the winning moment, his shovelled flick off the toes for four off Mohammed Shami, before turning to his opponents and accepting the respect that was due to one of the mightiest campaigners of them all.But you got the sense, as his formless but indomitable quest for victory grew in stature, that Taylor’s own announcement wouldn’t be so far behind. In a recent interview with the ICC, Taylor admitted that, had the 2019 final not turned out as it did, he might not have had the drive to take his career into this, his 14th year. A farewell on home soil might be tempting, but for New Zealand’s greatest Test run-scorer, stages do not get more fitting than this.Taylor and Williamson share a moment after making New Zealand Test world champions•Getty ImagesAt the other end, throughout his unbeaten 96-run stand for the third wicket, Williamson exuded a level of certainty that no other player came close to matching all Test. Calm and calibrated, his astonishment at being given out lbw on 1 was vindicated by DRS on review. And he barely played another false shot until the ball before his fifty, an ugly hoick that just eluded Jasprit Bumrah’s fingers at third man.Taylor, by contrast, brought little but revolting pugnacity to the table, but it was precisely the mettle that the moment needed. Despite an 80 at Edgbaston that was hewn from a similar rock, he has been as bereft of form on this tour as Nasser Hussain in the latter days of his own guts-for-glory Test career, and he’s quite possibly bowed out with a similarly iconic boundary too. Batting from muscle memory clearly has its advantages at such high-stakes moments.Taylor needed 18 balls to get himself off the mark with a crack through backward point, but he wore his indignities and soaked up the blows, none more savage than the length-ball bouncer from Bumrah that spat into his badge as if launched from a fielding trampoline. Taylor grimaced, then grinned, then got straight back to business after the concussion test. Unmoved and immoveable. And ultimately magnificent.This was a day on which New Zealand weren’t afraid to get down and dirty in their final push for the summit. Small moments of heroism echoed through their day. None more crucial than Henry Nicholls’ ice-cool running catch at backward point, blocking out the cat-calls of another emotionally invested crowd to see off Pant and unlock India’s flimsy lower order. Tom Latham and Devon Conway will not graft many more valuable 33-run stands either, their achievement in reaching tea unscathed was an especially vital statement.But as Williamson hoisted the World Test Championship trophy on an exquisitely sunlit evening in Southampton, the highs and lows of an extraordinary six-day Test suddenly took on a new, more metaphorical meaning – most especially, the importance of keeping your head through the tough times and savouring the glories when they come. Two years ago, at Lord’s, New Zealand’s hopes and dreams were cruelly washed out, just as they had been four years before that in Melbourne. Delayed gratification does eventually come to those who push on through the suffering.

England have a fantastic chance to level the series after a perfect second day

George Dobell26-Aug-2021There wasn’t any sangria in the park or feeding animals in the zoo, but this was, pretty much, England’s perfect day. By the end you really could have been forgiven for thinking they were someone else, someone good.It goes without saying that this has given England a fantastic opportunity to level the series. Yes, the pitch looks full of runs at present. And yes, England’s bowlers will no doubt have to work far harder in India’s second innings.But this has given England an opportunity beyond that. Not only should England’s batters be able to take great confidence from this performance – the top four all reached 50 for the first time since the 2013 Dunedin Test – but in keeping India in the field for 129 overs, they’ve earned the chance to strike a blow that could be significant later in the series.Joe Root scored his 23rd Test hundred•Getty ImagesThe Tests come pretty thick and fast these days, after all. And long before the end of the day, Mohammad Shami – who bowled better than his figures suggest – had been on and off the pitch for treatment, Jasprit Bumrah had padding on his knee and Ravi Jadeja was limping. Ishant Sharma, meanwhile, has looked a shadow of the fast bowler who came into this match with 311 Test wickets. There were moments, such as when England took singles to him at mid-on and mid-off, when his lack of mobility was almost alarming. Really, if you saw him on a bus, you would offer him your seat.The point? England have an opportunity to break a bowling attack. Or at least put so many miles in their legs their viability is compromised for the days ahead. England have been on the wrong end of such tactics many times. Now is the time to be ruthless. Many will say England should declare overnight – and it’s true, there’s not much point sending out James Anderson to face them on the third day – but you can guarantee India’s bowlers will not relish the prospect of warming-up and pulling on the bowling boots once more.You suspect that most of those present at Headingley on Thursday went home purring in pleasure at the innings they witnessed from Joe Root. For the second day in succession, this old ground had seen an England great produce some of his greatest work. He made his sixth century of the year – already equal to the England record shared by Denis Compton (1947) and Michael Vaughan (2002) – and his third of the series look easy. There were many beautiful strokes – not least a fierce sweep, a gorgeous clip off his legs and a fine reverse-sweep – but one back-foot punch through cover was a thing of such perfection that you could almost imagine a sunset taking a photo of it.Most Tests 100s for England in a year•ESPNcricinfo LtdBut we know Anderson is an incredible bowler and that Root is enjoying a hot summer. What, perhaps, is more encouraging for England in the long-term is the performance of Dawid Malan and Haseeb Hameed.Malan’s second-highest Test score, in his first Test innings in more than three years, was a nicely judged effort which served to demonstrate both his tighter defensive technique – he left with expert judgement – and his range of strokes. A couple of his cover drives would have pleased David Gower. There isn’t higher praise. There’s no reason to think Malan cannot kick-on from this.The entire innings, though, was set up by the opening partnership. And it was telling that it was England’s highest opening stand (135) since Hameed had his first run in the side in November 2016. It lasted 50 overs, drew the sting from the attack and put England ahead in the game.Hameed, in truth, was not as fluent on the second day. He added only eight to his overnight score and went 28 balls without scoring immediately before his dismissal. He still made 68, though. He still looked the part. Don’t worry too much about him not scoring any runs in the V; Malan only made one in the off-side V; Root only made seven there. This hasn’t, to date, been a pitch for driving. Just ask the Indian top-order.Peter Moores knew the exact moment Hameed was ready for a return to international cricket. Moores, the Nottinghamshire coach who signed Hameed at the end of 2019, had spent the previous evening, midway through the strange summer of 2020, working with Root in the nets at Trent Bridge. England were about to reconvene for the lockdown Tests against West Indies and Root had come to work with Moores to find some form. The next morning, Hameed turned up for a bat.”We were in the exact same net,” Moores tells ESPNcricinfo now. “And when there are just two of you there and you’re throwing with the dog-stick, you know how much you’re putting on the ball. So, you get a really clear picture of the way someone is playing.”And he just batted beautifully. He had rediscovered his rhythm. I was using Joe – who is clearly one of the best players in the world as a benchmark – and I just thought, ‘Has is looking very, very good’.”The next few weeks didn’t produce a mountain of runs. But they did produce some. And perhaps as important as the three half-centuries in seven innings and an average of 38.85 was the return of a smile to his face. Freed from what had clearly been an increasingly unhappy relationship at Lancashire, he rediscovered the joy of the game.”There weren’t a million people trying to sign him when he came here,” Moores recalls. “And yes, he needed repairing. There was some technical work to do, but mostly he needed rebuilding as a person.Related

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“He was in a tough place. He had experienced an extreme version of what many young players go through: he had enjoyed early success and then started to struggle.”But I knew him from my time as coach at Lancashire. He was just coming through the system then and I knew he was a great kid. Almost as soon as he walked through the gates, it was a though we’d found a soul-mate. All he wanted to do was learn and talk and get better. As a coach, that really is the dream.”I think he felt released here. And first he started to trust his game again, and then he’s just blossomed.”A little while into the season, a committee man from Notts said to me ‘he fields with joy’ and that’s exactly right. Whether he’s at short-leg or cover, he does it with a smile on his face. He’s brought great energy to our team. It’s been lovely to watch.”So, what was the technical work?”Like a few young players, he had started to take an off-stump guard,” Moores explains. “You can understand the logic: they think they’re lining up the stumps. But actually it draws you into playing at balls you shouldn’t. You don’t really want to be defending balls outside off stump. You want to either be leaving them or attacking them. There’s no benefit in defending them.”Now he takes middle-stump. His trigger movements are smaller and he’s opening up more scoring opportunities.”Hameed’s defence can be a delight. At his best, he really does play the ball right under his nose with bat and pad so tight together you suspect it could keep out the rain. But it was the more aggressive strokes he played on the first day which really pleased Moores.”It was nice to see him play some shots,” he says. “That’s the way he’s moved his game. There was a period, a couple of years ago, when he looked as if he was just trying to survive. He wasn’t thinking about scoring runs. He was battling rather than batting.”He says he knows when he’s playing well as he has soft hands and can cushion the ball. It’s a lovely quality. It means you can edge the ball and still not be out. It’s a quality that Kane Williamson has. But Hameed can play pace and spin well. He sees the ball early. I think he’ll be fine in Australia. His game is designed to play pace.”Haseeb Hameed rocks back and cuts•PA Photos/Getty ImagesIt’s no coincidence that Moores has been involved in Hameed’s rehabilitation. He has played a similar role in many careers going back to Mushtaq Ahmed at Sussex. So it’s probably not surprising that it was Moores he turned to after his failure – a first-ball failure, at that – in his comeback innings at Lord’s.”I did speak to him, yes,” Moores says. “He was fine. Maybe if he hadn’t scored that century against India in a warm-up game a few weeks earlier he might have been a bit more worried, but he was ok. I just gave him verification, really. I reminded him he was a top player and that it was important to control yourself in those moments. I think he just didn’t watch the ball in that innings.”And were there any concerns about getting bogged down on day two?”Not really,” Moores says. “Batting is often tougher in the morning at Leeds and I thought he looked comfortable doing the job he did. He put a lot of overs in the legs of those bowlers. And all the bouncers they bowled to him will have taken something out of them for later in the match or later in the series.”There’s not much doubt that Root will take the plaudits for this innings. And quite right, too. But it felt like a significant innings from Hameed, too. After several years of hard work, he’s starting to reap what he sowed.

A phenomenal batting line-up, seven bowling options, some excellent fielders… that’s our XI for IPL 2021

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-2021 year sounds silly, but Harshal did, didn’t he?Varun Chakravarthy was one of the key reasons for Kolkata Knight Riders’ progress to the final•BCCI10. Varun Chakravarthy (18 wickets, ave 24.88, ER 6.58, Best 3-13)
It was almost impossible to get Chakravarthy away, right through the IPL, for the second IPL in a row, in fact, and in tandem with Narine, he formed a sensational pair in the middle overs, drying up the runs and setting Knight Riders up for one unlikely win after another. Chakravarthy picked up wickets with some regularity, but his great achievement was definitely in the economy department.11. Avesh Khan (24 wickets, ave 18.75, ER 7.37, Best 3-13)
Avesh enjoyed a true breakthrough season. Second only to Harshal in the wicket-takers’ tally, it was almost as if Avesh would get a wicket each time he came on to bowl, in every stage of the innings. Still uncapped at the international level, though he is on the fringes, Avesh showed how he has improved in the past couple of years, still hitting the deck as he always did, but now with more control, and at what pace. He can hit 140kph, but also has a bagful of slower deliveries, and bowls both in the powerplay and at the death.
Almost there: Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant, Andre Russell, Yuzvendra Chahal, Anrich Nortje.

Players from the main squad will arrive only after the Caribbean T20Is, which gives these six players the chance to shine

Matt Roller26-Jan-2022Tom Lammonby (Karachi Kings)Lammonby is still finding his feet as a T20 player but a strong PSL could see him emerge as one of England’s most promising finishers with the bat. A left-hander who is significantly stronger facing seamers than spinners, Lammonby played one of the best innings in last year’s T20 Blast when he made 90 off 36 balls in a must-win game for Somerset against Gloucestershire, and has played a handful of games in the Hundred and the Big Bash. He also provides an extra bowling option with his left-arm medium pace, though that facet of his game remains a work in progress.

Watch EVERY BALL of Tom Lammonby's INCREDIBLE 90 from 36 balls!!!! #WeAreSomerset pic.twitter.com/X0rr74yXMN

— Somerset Cricket (@SomersetCCC) July 19, 2021