Harry Brook believes England’s resurgent white-ball side have the talent to turn into “probably the most dominant team on the planet”.
Brook has enjoyed an ideal start as limited-overs captain, winning all six games against the West Indies to overhaul the fortunes of a gaggle that lost their last eight matches within the hangdog final days of Jos Buttler’s tenure.
Buoyed by matching 3-0 scorelines within the ODI and T20 formats, sealing the latter with a snug 37-run win in Southampton, Brook talked up England’s possibilities of becoming a force to be reckoned with.
With a T20 World Cup coming early next yr, it’s a challenge they’ll soon get the possibility to satisfy.
Perfect Start
“It’s been a fairly good start hasn’t it? I feel almost every player on this team is a world-beater,” he said after his side scored 248 for 3 – the joint highest T20 international total on English soil.
“We wish to get to a stage now where we’re winning series in the primary two or three games and we’re nailing them within the others. We wish to wash sweep people. We wish to be probably the most dominant team on the planet.
“I’ve said loads of times the depth that we’ve in batting is just awesome. The highest three, 4, five can go hard and get us as much as totals like we saw here. Then with the talents that the bowlers possess as well, it’s worked beautifully.
“I feel like we’re just such a team. I’ve never really felt that aside from within the Test side.”
Brook prioritised international cricket and opted out of a lucrative Indian Premier League contract earlier this yr, incurring a possible three-year ban having originally put his name into the auction.
It’s a lead he now wants others to follow.
Prioritising England
He said: “Absolutely, that’s what we wish to attempt to do. We wish people to almost turn around and say, ‘I need to play for England and I’m glad to take a seat out of the odd franchise competition to do it’.
“I personally think playing for England is the head of cricket and to play in your country is the most effective thing you’ll be able to do.”
That may be a luxury the West Indies can only dream of, following the premature retirement of Nicholas Pooran at just 29 years old. Financially, they lack the muscle to compete with the riches on offer in some leagues, but that is just not a problem England face so acutely.
Competition is just prone to increase if the case of Phil Salt and Jamie Smith is anything to go by. Salt has missed the West Indies series following the birth of his first child, but did make a whistle stop return to India for the IPL final, which he won with Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
His place went to Smith, who scored 60 off just 26 balls on the Utilita Bowl to threaten the pecking order.
“The talent that we’ve got in English cricket in white ball cricket is just phenomenal. For Salty to miss out on a series and Smudge to do what he’s done this series is just mega,” Brook added.
“The batting depth we’ve is just awesome.”
READ MORE: England complete T20 series clean sweep to proceed Harry Brook’s winning start
