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    • Pak vs Eng – Harry Brook seeks emphatic response after rare fallow outing in Pakistan
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    Pak vs Eng – Harry Brook seeks emphatic response after rare fallow outing in Pakistan

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    Pakistan’s National Bureau of Statistics hosted its first ‘Data-Fest’ conference this week, 10 minutes away from the English hotel in Islamabad. Under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes, this England side has shown minimal interest in numbers, but there is one figure that stands out ahead of their series decider in nearby Rawalpindi: 101.25, Harry Brooks batting average in Pakistan.
    Two years have passed since Brook announced himself as a Test cricketer with an outrageous first hundred in Rawalpindi. He was England’s fourth centurion as they scored 506 for 4 on the opening day of their series against Pakistan, eventually falling for 153 off 116 balls on the second morning after plundering 27 from an over from Zahid Mahmood.
    He followed that innings with subsequent hundreds of England victories in Multan and Karachi, extending a stunning run of form in Pakistan that had begun with a century in the 2022 PSL and continued with a breakthrough T20I series. Not since Kevin Pietersen had an England batsman made such a convincing start to their Test career.
    Brook started the series with 317 in Multan on his return this month, a mammoth innings that was England’s highest in 34 years. But more than 500 kilometers away, in Peshawar, Sajid Khan watched closely on TV and noticed Brook pushing back against the spin. When called up for the second Test, Sajid devised a plan to get the ball sharply out of the Rough.

    “There was a little bit outside the stump,” Sajid explained. “When he faced his first ball, I told Rizi bhai (Mohammad Rizwan) that if he plays like that again, I will take him out.” Brook was left behind as Sajid had predicted, looking for cover, but was hit on his inside edge by a ball that stayed low and had hit his leg stump back.

    Brook also played off the back foot again in England’s second innings, this time against the left-armed Noman Ali. He was deep in his crease at a full ball, trying to whip it over midwicket, but was deceived by the low bounce and trapped lbw. With scores of 9 and 16, this was Brook’s least successful Test in Pakistan: his first without a hundred and his first defeat.

    Brendon McCullum, the England coach, grinned after the second Test when he heard Sajid had revealed his plans to Brook. ‘He did that? Good bowling,” McCullum said. “He’s such an exciting cricketer, and such a big player for us, and he tries to put pressure on the opposition. Sometimes when you do that, you make mistakes and get out.”

    One quiet Test immediately after a triple hundred is not enough to cause long-term concerns, but Brook said on Tuesday he has discussed gameplans against Sajid and Noman ahead of this week’s decider. “They’re both obviously going to play a big role in their team,” he said. “Hopefully it pays off and I play a big role in the game.”

    Brook agreed with Sajid’s assessment of his preference to play spin-off-the-backfoot. “I like it,” he said. “It gives you a lot more time to play the spinning ball. It gives you different areas to play in. I’m not saying I’m not going to do that: I’m going to try to play with the back foot, and I’m going to try to play him to put pressure on.”

    It’s hardly an issue that has plagued him throughout his Test career: to date, Brook averages more against spin (67.81) than against seam (57.70). But the reason his twin failures were notable was that, having missed England’s tour to India on compassionate leave, this was the first time he had played on a pitch that weighed firmly in the spinners’ favour.

    England hosted a six-hitting competition on Wednesday morning ahead of their final training session in Rawalpindi, with Brook finishing a close second to Rehan Ahmed. Stokes said the aim was to “get the good vibes going” after three weeks of being largely confined to two hotels and two stadiums, but it also served as a reminder of Brook’s destructive power.
    It’s easy to forget that Brook has only played 20 Tests, so quickly has he become an England regular. It has an excellent record, with an average shade under 60, but it’s still a work in progress. “He’s a baby in the bigger picture,” said Pakistan coach Jason Gillespie. “He’ll get it done under any circumstances; the good players tend to do that.”

    This has been a long season for Brook: he has played more or less non-stop since early April, with 35 matches across formats including eight Tests, five ODIs as stand-in captain and a T20 World Cup. Thursday’s Rawalpindi Test will finally put an end to it, even if it will only have a short break before England travel to New Zealand.

    As a three-format player, Brook is getting used to the unforgiving nature of the international fixture list and will quickly become accustomed to opponents targeting what they see as potential weaknesses. If he can overcome both pitfalls and maintain his remarkable three-figure average in Pakistan, it will go a long way to England’s victory in this series.

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