Joe Root: Harry Brook is 'far and away the best player in the world ' – T20 IPL 2024

Joe Root has hailed Harry Brook as “far and away the best player in the world” after Brook powered England to their first series victory in New Zealand since 2008.

Both Root and Brook registered centuries in an emphatic 323-run win in the second Test against the Black Caps that confirmed an unassailable 2-0 scoreline after just three days at the Basin Reserve. It was their 35th and eighth hundreds respectively, with Brook’s 123 in tough first-innings conditions earning him the player-of-the-match award.

Brooks’ opening-day effort, reaching three figures in 91 deliveries (the second-fastest of his career), came in challenging conditions, dragging England to 280 inside just 54.5 overs, having at one stage been 26 for 3. The tourists were then able to dismiss New Zealand for 125, establishing a 155-run lead that Root’s 106 would eventually lift to a mammoth 582. In reply, New Zealand could only muster 259 in just 54.2 overs.

Last week, Brook moved up to No.2 on the ICC Test rankings off the back of his 171 in the first Test at Christchurch, which set up an eight-wicket win. Root sits at No.1, but England’s all-time leading run-scorer believes his Yorkshire and England team-mate is currently at the top of the modern game as it stands.

“Brooky is by far and away the best player in the world at the minute,” Root said, off the back of Brook’s exploits in New Zealand.

“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.

“He’s so hard to bowl to and dovetailed with someone like Pope (174 for the fifth wicket in the first innings), who’s extremely busy and scoring in awkward areas, [which] makes it very difficult to stop the flow of runs. I think they just played exceptionally well together.”

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Brook returned the compliment to Root, who has a chance to beat his previous calendar-year best of six centuries (2021) in this Saturday’s third and final Test at Hamilton.

“I’m trying to catch him, but he’s too good, isn’t he?” Brook said, when asked if he fancied taking the No.1 tag off Root. “[He] Got another hundred this week. No, he’s obviously one of the best players, if not the best player, to have ever played the game.”

Though only two years into his Test career, Brook’s average of 61.62 from 23 Tests is currently third on the all-time list. Having become England’s first triple-centurion in 34 years with 317 against Pakistan, his work in New Zealand over the last two weeks has moved his average away from home to a remarkable 89.35, though he has only played in those two countries.

Brook, however, insists on keeping his feet on the ground and believes he has more work to do to improve all aspects of his game.

“I’ve only played 23 games, so them stats could soon come soaring down!” he said. “So I’m just trying to keep on getting as good as I can and working hard in the nets and improving areas that are uncomfortable. Just keep on going really. You can always get better everywhere.”

Meanwhile, Root has been announced on the shortlist for BBC Sports Personality of the Year. The award, to be judged by the public on who they regard as most accomplished sportsperson in 2024, has only been won by a cricketer on five occasions. Ben Stokes was the most recent, in 2019, while Stuart Board finished runner-up last year.

“I didn’t expect that at all, really,” Root said of Monday’s announcement. “I guess I’m honored to be involved in it. You know, it’s been a wonderful year of sports so to even be considered is is pretty humbling, to be honest.

“I wasn’t expecting at all, but it’s something I’ve watched as a kid growing up. I don’t really know how to sum it up.”

England will meet up in Hamilton on Wednesday ahead of the third Test. A number of players left Wellington on Monday to explore New Zealand’s North Island and will travel separately to the inland city.

Vithushan Ehantharajah is an associate editor at ESPNcricinfo

Source: ESPN Crickinfo

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