Harry Brook exclusive: 'Ben Stokes said sorry for calling me dumb'

Harry Brook has only played one Test match but has already had an apology from Ben Stokes.

On the eve of the Oval Test against South Africa, Stokes was asked about his new batsman, and after the usual platitudes about him being a “huge talent” and one for the future, Stokes had a little laugh. “He’s a bit dumb.”

Brook, the brightest English batting talent in the game right now, laughs at the memory. “He came straight in the dressing room and said sorry after he said that. I’m not very 'school-smart' but I would say I’m fairly cricket-smart. I’m streetwise but educationally? Nah, I'm not very good. I’m shocking at quizzes.”

England have not picked him for his knowledge of European capital cities or the works of Oscar Wilde but for his immense batting talent that has had his team-mates purring in Pakistan. Mark Wood even compared him to AB de Villiers after his first fifty for England the other night when he toyed with the Pakistan bowlers as he smoked 81 of 35 balls.

“After his interview he came to me and said 'I’ve just compared you to AB so don’t let me down'.” Obviously that is unbelievable. He’s one of my favourite players to play the game. I used to loved watching him bat but I want to be the best Harry Brook though. I don’t want to be somebody else. I want to do as well as I can do and play the way I want to.”

Brook’s cricket story is a blend of the old and new. From playing at his village club – Burley in Wharfedale – he went to Sedbergh School on a scholarship before joining the Yorkshire staff at 17.

Public schools offer 100 per cent scholarships and fight over the best cricket talent and it gives the impression the England team is full of rich kids whose families can afford the fees, but Brook is an example of a talented schoolboy who was just given a leg up through his ability. It was family and club cricket that were his entry to the game.

“My grandad basically brought cricket into the family. He played and then introduced it to my dad, my uncles who all played.  My grandma and grandad live right on the ground in Burley in Wharfedale and there is no fence stopping you getting onto the field so I just ran right out the back door and played with anybody who would throw the ball at me – grandad, dad, uncles, mates, anybody.

“I was at state school before I went to Sedbergh. There was nothing. No training, no gym stuff, no running, nothing to try and improve at state school but at Sedbergh there was everything. I could wake up one morning go for a run, every morning I would be in the nets at half past six with Martin Speight [Sedbergh coach and former county player].

“There was a gym on site and I was doing as much as possible. It was a huge advantage. It was such easy access and so many people wanted to help. Speighty was phenomenal when I was there and still is now. Not many people would have got up at 6am to throw at me for two hours and we are still in touch. He has even got in touch with me after every game out here. If he sees anything slightly off he tells me straightaway, which is what I like.”

Brook credits Speight with helping him turn around his career. In 28 first-class matches up to 2020 Brook averaged just 21.9, a talented player but one struggling with county cricket and the moving ball. In the winter of 2019/20 he introduced a trigger movement and it had an instant effect. In 29 games since, Brook averages 50.4, scoring five centuries.

Given his style it is a surprise to hear Brook pick the forward defensive as one of his three favourite shots. “Love a perfect forward defensive when it just trickles to point, it is unbelievable.”'

'Pakistan Super League made county cricket a bit easier'

There were not many of them during his 81 in Karachi. He struggled in the Big Bash in 2021 but clicked in the Pakistan Super League, scoring a hundred for the Lahore Qalandars which started a relationship with Pakistan cricket that has blossomed on this tour. He even described it as a second home the other day.

“Coming out here, I played against some of the best bowlers, some real pace in the PSL. Going back to England, it made everything feel that little bit slower and, I don’t want to sound like an idiot, but a bit easier.”

It was a remarkable Test debut even though Brook only scored 12. The sequence of events in the lead up, and the England win, were a memorable start. “It was unbelievable – washed out first day, Queen died and then day off. I didn’t think I was going to get to play to be honest. Thought I would just get my cap and not play any cricket but it was a good week. The first thing Stokesy said was ‘we are going to get a result out of this game’. We went out there and did that.”

How does a young player now juggle the demands of franchise leagues while trying to fulfil their Test ambitions?

“I want to play Test cricket. That is the best standard and best game but then again I can understand why people want to sack red ball off because there is so much money to be made out there in T20. Like I say, I am still focused on Test cricket and want to have a long career in that and I think my game is set up for it. I’ve got a decent technique. I think the way England are trying to play suits me fairly well.

“I am quite a positive batter, I try to put pressure on the bowling and I want to be a match-winner. I want to score big runs. I’m not wanting to get fancy 30s and 50s. I want to get hundreds and 150s.”

For someone a “bit dumb” he is talking good sense and the kind of language England want to hear.