TimesofIndia.com in Kandy: As the saying goes, “Tough times don’t last, but strong people last.” It syncs perfectly with Harry Brooke.
Over the past few months, the England white-ball captain has been in the news not for his batting excellence but for his off-field antics. Last year, he got into an argument with a nightclub bouncer in Wellington during the one-day series against New Zealand. On the night of the altercation, Brooke and England team-mate Jacob Bethell were filmed drinking, with the video later posted on social media.
Brooke later lied to the media, claiming he was alone when he was assaulted by a nightclub bouncer during England’s pre-Ashes tour of New Zealand. He later admitted it was a lie because there were others with him and he lied to protect them. Brook was subsequently fined around £30,000 and the England Cricket Board (ECB) issued a final warning over his future behaviour.
Brooke had a frustrating display in Australia’s Ashes, reaching fifty only twice in ten innings. The then 26-year-old went on to score 358 runs in five Tests at an average of 39.77 in the 2025-26 Ashes Test season.
In the last two games of the ongoing T20 World Cup, Brooke, who celebrated his birthday just a few days ago, has shown signs of maturity with both the bat and the acumen on the field, which is crucial for a great leader.
Against Sri Lanka at Pallakele in Kandy, his defensive total was just 147, but his bowling changes and field placement were on point. It was his bat that did the talking when his team came under huge pressure against Pakistan on Tuesday. Between those two games, Brooke has aged a year and grown in leaps and bounds as a leader.
After a brilliant century on a track where his teammates struggled, the England white-ball skipper admitted it had been the “toughest” few months for him as a cricketer.
“To be honest, this has probably been the toughest winter of my life,” he told reporters after England’s decisive two-wicket win over Pakistan. “There’s a lot behind the scenes and out of it, but yeah, it’s nice to see some reward for all the hard work I put in away from the ground.”
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the chosen one
Brooke made his international debut four years ago in a T20I match against West Indies. His chart has been going up ever since.
He has undoubtedly been the face of ‘Bazball’, the ultra-aggressive, high-risk and aggressive style of play adopted by the England men’s Test cricket team under captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendan McCullum.
After scoring his maiden T20I hundred on Tuesday night, Brooke revealed that it was coach McCullum’s idea that he should bat at No. 3 against Pakistan, citing his good record against Pakistan. “Baz is the mastermind there. He and I were talking this morning about how to increase the order and try to maximize the power, and thankfully, it paid off,” Brooke said with a smile on his face.
Under McCullum, Brooke developed as a cricketer first. Now, this anointed one is also growing into a leader. McCallum supported the young man when he went through difficult times. Earlier this month, ahead of the start of the T20 World Cup, McCallum praised Harry Brooke for the way he handled the controversy but admitted his white-ball captain was still a “work in progress” away from the cricket field.
“He’s had a tough time off the field recently but he’s a strong lad who’s been able to put that aside and still lead these boys in the same way he did before and show the great tactical awareness he has as a cricketer,” McCullum said after England’s Harry Brooke-led side won the ODI series 2-1 and swept Sri Lanka 3-0 in the T20.
“I do sometimes think people think Brook is not that smart. I totally disagree with that. He is light on intelligence. He has a very good tactical cricket brain.
“He’s improving off the court. He’s not alone and it’s our job to help him through it. But on the court, he’s definitely doing great right now.”
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The body keeps growing
Harry Brooke hit ten fours and four sixes in his brilliant knock against Pakistan and the batsman also hit nine doubles, something never seen before in Brooke’s batting skills.
On the last ball of the power play, Mohammad Nawaz drove the ball flat over the stumps. Brooke uses the depth of the crease to step back and push the delivery straight back over the bowler’s head. There was a charm to that shoot. He did hit three more, but that flat shot sent a signal to the Pakistan camp that although they had taken the lead in the match thanks to Shaheen Shah Afridi’s wicket burst in the power play, England were still in the game as their captain was not going to give up easily.
He did agree that after he was out with Shaheen Shah Afridi, he started reminiscing about the Oval Test when Nawaz took two wickets quickly in the 19th over when Mohammed Siraj turned the game around for India.
“I thought it was going to be another Oval game against India. Thankfully we managed to get over the line and Joff hit the boundary at the end. But yes, it was a bit tight there and like I said, luckily we got the win,” he said.
Recently, former England captain Michael Vaughan slammed Brook for not stepping up in the big game. He did respond to Warne’s criticism with a knock, before saying: “To be honest, it’s not even on my radar. I just go out and try to win cricket for England and the team I play for. Thankfully I managed to do that tonight and our main goal is to get to the semi-finals.”
Brook also grew as a captain in the locker room and earned the respect of the senior pros.
After the win over Sri Lanka, left-arm spinner Liam Dawson was all praises for the way the young captain operates the spinners. “I thought the way Brooke captained the team today was phenomenal, how he used all of us in different ways,” Dawson, who took three wickets against Pakistan, said on Sunday.
After the win over Pakistan, it was bowling all-rounder Jamie Overton’s turn to heap praise on ‘The Jump’. “That was probably one of the best shots I’ve ever seen. Full credit to Brook. He put his hands up and hit three and he was up front today. Hopefully he can continue to play for us in the next few games,” Overton told reporters in the mixed zone.
“It’s a great feeling to be part of a cricket side from the way he approaches cricket. He wants us to go out and play, have a smile on our face and enjoy cricket. That’s when we were playing growing up. We want to go out and have fun. It feels like we’re out there having fun now. He’s set the standard for what we want to do and if he keeps playing like this, we’ll go far in this competition,” Overton added.
Moments later, in the post-match press conference, the issue of Jos Buttler’s poor form came into focus. Buttler has now scored 62 runs in six innings. He has not played more than 40 innings in his last 18 international matches.
“He is a powerhouse in world cricket. He has done it at every stage. He won ODIs and T20 World Cups and it was just a matter of time,” Brooke defended his senior pro.
“Honestly, I think people have to give him a little leniency. He’s played over 500 T20 games, he’s played over 150 games for England and he’s still averaging 35 and has an attack rate of 145. He’s arguably our best player and he just isn’t hitting them through the middle at the moment. But, yes, I think people probably need to go a little easier on him.”
In these three days, Brooke has not only grown a year older, but has also become wiser, which is indeed a great sign for England.