Harry Brook: England player on batting, Test captaincy and Wellington

In a parallel universe, this week is Harry Brook's first as England's new Test captain.

There are numerous reasons why it will be Joe Root, rather than Brook, leading England into a new era against Pakistan at Headingley: the timing of Ben Stokes' retirement, Brook's workload as white-ball captain and Root's surprise willingness to resume the job among them.

Inescapably, there is also what happened during the winter, when Brook was punched by a nightclub bouncer in Wellington on the eve of a one-day international against New Zealand.

In June, Brook said it would be an "honour" to be asked to succeed Stokes. Almost two months later, he does not know if the Wellington incident has cost him the top job, at least for now.

"I dunno," he tells BBC Sport. "I honestly don't know. I don't really look at it like that.

"The decision to make Rooty captain is the right one. I'm actually really excited to see what he can do. He's definitely the right man to take over that job. I'm really looking forward to working alongside him."

For some, Brook became the poster boy of everything they disliked about the Bazball era, both for what happened off the field and for the way he plays the game on it.

At this point, it's probably worth noting that no man has scored more international runs across formats since Brook made his Test debut in 2022. Of all players to have batted at least 20 times in Test cricket for England in the past 60 years, no one has a higher average than Brook's 53.04.

Brook has occasionally done himself no favours, but there is also something uncomfortable about the narrative that surrounds the 27-year-old, especially in a sport that struggles with elitism.

He often speaks about how he is living his dream - his parents have told him he has been talking about playing for England since he uttered his first words.

But not everything about playing for England is a dream. Scrutiny, criticism and the court of public opinion. Brook had the lot after the Wellington misdemeanour became public knowledge.

"It was a tough period, especially when I was at home, getting ready to face the media," he says.

"I feel like the character that I showed throughout that period to go out there and still perform and lead the white-ball side fairly well - I was proud of myself and the team.

"I don't want to say it's helped me, but it's made me realise how big it is to be England captain. It's not just the leadership on the field. It makes a massive difference if you can lead with responsibility off the field."

Amid the Wellington fallout, Brook led England to important ODI and T20 series wins in Sri Lanka, as well as the semi-finals of the World Cup that followed. His own form was superb. In the maelstrom, he drew on an experience from three years earlier.

In 2023, his only season in the pressure cooker of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Brook struggled. After his one significant score for Sunrisers Hyderabad - admittedly an unbeaten century - he said he was glad to "shut up" supporters that had been "slagging me off".

"I got into a little bit of a rabbit hole with scrutiny and social media when I was at the IPL," says Brook.

"It didn't help me as a person on the field or off the field. I decided to, not stay away from social media, but also not go out of my way to look at it.

"On the other hand, I actually feel it's a little bit of a compliment if people are giving me scrutiny and have an opinion about my game.

"I know it's not a nice thing to see people slagging you off, but it means people care and people think I can put in a better performance than I have done that day."

There are comparisons that can be drawn between Brook and Stokes. Maverick players from working-class backgrounds, often finding themselves outnumbered by the well-to-do members of the dressing room.

But, like Stokes, Brook is authentic in the way he plays and speaks, even if that can get him into trouble. One example would be Brook's "who cares" line about batters being caught in the deep after an ODI against Australia two years ago.

"I would say that I'm an extremely honest person," says Brook. "I'm honest with myself and honest with my game.

"A lot of people say honesty is the best policy. I probably have got into trouble a few times being too honest."

Authenticity bleeds into Brook's batting, for better and worse. He is probably the most thrilling batter to wear an England shirt since Kevin Pietersen and no batter with at least 3,000 Test runs has scored more quickly than Brook, whose strike rate is almost 87 runs per 100 balls.

But Brook can delight and frustrate in equal measure, nowhere more so than on an Ashes tour when an average just under 40 was a disservice to his ability.

Costly crimes included his drive at Scott Boland in the calamitous second-innings collapse in the first Test and trying to hit Mitchell Starc for six over extra cover in the first innings of the second Test. "Shocking shots" were how Brook described them in Australia.

"If supporters get frustrated, imagine how frustrated I get," says Brook.

"It's something I've been really trying to work on, trying to assess conditions quicker, and read the surface better. To go out there knowing what shots are going to be hard and what is going to be easier.

"I practise every single shot and have done since the age of eight. In the nets, I'd do a 360 challenge with my dad. He'd throw balls and I'd have to try to hit it to a certain place: that corner, then that corner.

"I have the ability to hit it everywhere, I just have to figure it out quicker in games."

At the end of that Ashes, Stokes pulled Brook aside to tell him his Test average could be as high as 65 or 70.

Though Brook says it's "not that easy", Stokes' point is only a select few have Brook's talent, and he might not be making the most of it.

"Yeah, maybe," says Brook. "I'm definitely not the finished article and maybe never will be."

And, when Brook says he knows what it is like to be a disappointed supporter, he pulls out his own example from when he was 16 years old, one that goes some way to explaining why he has grown so close to Brendon McCullum.

"I remember as a kid going to watch Baz play at Headingley for Warwickshire and Matthew Fisher got him out in his first over. I was absolutely devastated. I'd only gone to watch him," says Brook.

"After he got out I said to my dad, 'Can we just go home'. I kind of understand it as a fan of cricket."

Brook grew up at Burley-in-Wharfdale Cricket Club, where his entire family is part of the furniture.

Brook's father David recently had his 50th birthday party at the club, while Harry still nets there and gets along to watch while he can.

A scholarship to Sedbergh School - "posh", in Brook's words - was where he honed his game, with 6.20am nets run by former Kent player Martin Speight. Speight remains one of Brook's closest advisors.

Challenged to improve his conditioning as a teenager, Brook has worked hard on his fitness as a professional.

He used the time when he missed England's tour of India in early 2024 - his grandmother Pauline died in March that year - to get back on track after he had "slipped on the wrong path".

"I wasn't as good an athlete as I could have been," says Brook. "I went on meal plans, I went to the gym and ran, with schedules from the strength and conditioning coach.

"When I came back, I felt like I was seeing the ball a hell of a lot easier. The pace of a delivery felt slower. It helped to bat for longer periods of time and run twos better.

"It made a massive difference to my fielding as well. I just think it was a vital area of my career so far that I've improved on and it's made a massive difference."

When he was named as England white-ball captain last year, Brook pulled out of the IPL and remains banned from the competition as a result.

"Not really," says Brook, on suggestions of regrets over his exile from cricket's most lucrative tournament.

Club cricket, school, fitness and no franchise gigs apart from The Hundred are all parts of what Brook has put into his England career.

He may not be Test captain now, though he knows there is a good chance the job will come. When it does, Brook will have a better understanding of what it means to be captain because of his experiences of the past year.

"There are little things you learn throughout your career," he says. "Obviously, the past few months have been on quite a high scale.

"Having that responsibility now has made a massive difference for me. There is the potential I could be captain, but at this moment in time all I'm focusing on is trying to win a few games of cricket. I will be 1,000% behind Rooty and I'm really looking forward to what this Test side can do."

And, in the tough moments, Brook's England career never stopped being his dream.

"I'm an extremely upbeat person. I'm always happy," he says. "Even when things are bad, I think there's no point dwelling on things. You've got to be happy.

"I'm in a very privileged position to be able to say I do something I love as a job. I refuse to call it a job, but I'm doing something I love for work. That is a dream come true.

"Every time I step over the white line, it's always a phenomenal feeling to be able to say, 'This is my life.'"

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