
England’s legendary batter Joe Root has hailed youngster Harry Brook as the ‘best in the world’ as he continues to impress in 2024. Brook played a key role in England’s latest away success after they beat New Zealand 2-0 with a Test to go on Sunday (Dec 8). According to Root, Brook is by far the best player in the world considering his impact on the game. The English batter scored 123 and 55 in the Wellington Test while completing 1000 runs in Tests in 2024.
"If you asked me, Brooky is by far and away the best player in the world at the minute," Root said on Monday (Dec 9).
"He has such an all-round game: 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."
With 1,099 Test runs in 18 innings (at the time of writing), Brook is the fourth-highest run-getter in the red-ball format. He remains one of the consistent performers in the side having averaged 61.05 with a best of 317 against Pakistan recently. During the marathon innings, he was accompanied by Root as they stitched a stand of 454 runs for the fourth wicket in Multanin October.
The partnership is also the highest for any England pair, highlighting the batting impact of Brook.
All of 25, Brook will look to make a significant impact in all three formats as England look to reclaim their dominance.
He will be next in action on Saturday (Dec 14) when Ben Stokes’ side takes on New Zealand in the third and final Test match with pride up for stakes. Despite pocketing the series 2-0, visitors will push for a whitewash having already won in Christchurch and Wellington.