England legend Geoffrey Boycott is not happy with the way Harry Brook is shaping up as a batsman, particularly in Tests. The former opener, known for his stubborn batting against the new ball, believes Brook has massive potential and can be as big as Sachin Tendulkar or Brian Lara but so far he has not really done justice to his immense gift.
"I've said before, and I'll say again, I've seen a lot of players. I haven't seen anybody with the talent he's got for a long time. Enormous talent. The timing, the shot playing, he's tall, big reach, but his thinking is just unbelievable," he said in episode three of the Geoffrey Boycott: An Extraordinary Innings podcast.
"If he wants to carry on playing that way, he'll have a decent career, but he has the ability, if he could think better, to be in the realms of Lara and Tendulkar. And, whoa, that's a bit special.
"To be up in that stratosphere is huge. There ain't many above them, except [Don] Bradman, and that's special. But he plays one-day cricket to every ball. He doesn't have a look at the ball; he has to bash the first ball. He'll just keep getting caught at mid-off and mid-on and daft places," he added.
While Brook, England’s white-ball captain, continues to score runs in Tests, there are no big runs to speak of in the last one year or so. Plus, last year, he was embroiled in a nightclub controversy in New Zealand after which he was fined. That incident, in a manner of speaking, took the opportunity away from him to captain the Test team after Ben Stokes' international retirement.
Boycott ignored!
{{/usCountry}}While Brook, England’s white-ball captain, continues to score runs in Tests, there are no big runs to speak of in the last one year or so. Plus, last year, he was embroiled in a nightclub controversy in New Zealand after which he was fined. That incident, in a manner of speaking, took the opportunity away from him to captain the Test team after Ben Stokes' international retirement.
Boycott ignored!
{{/usCountry}}Boycott also revealed that Brook’s uncle had a word with him last year, and the former opener offered his services to help the batter's game, but nothing happened after that. Nobody got back to him.
"His uncle came to me last year, and he said, 'Would you have a word with him?' Well, he asked me what I thought of him. I told him exactly this. He said, 'Really?' I said, 'Yeah.' I said that much ability is rare, special.
"He said, 'Would you have a word with him?' I said, 'It's not for me to go to him. But if he asked me, of course I'd help. Why would I not? I gave him my number and never heard a word," Boycott said.