Harry Brooks on a song ! ~ England steamrolls at Multan

It was carnage at Multan – before you read further – do you know of the 4^th Test at Kingston in Apr 1930 and a batsman who scored total of 879 runs in his career of 14 tests but made 325 in his last Test !!! – who ?? 

A day after he made history as England’s all-time leading Test run-scorer, Joe Root watched Harry Brook upstage him with an innings of 317 before describing his Yorkshire teammate’s efforts as “a masterclass” and adding: “I don’t think it’ll be the last time we see him with a monster score.” He shared a mammoth 454 run partnership,   now the highest for England in Test cricket, bettering the 411-run stand between Peter May and Colin Cowdrey against West Indies in 1957, also for the fourth wicket. 

A triple century in Test cricket has been scored on 32 occasions by 28 batsmen from eight of the twelve Test-cricket playing nations.  Two Indians are in that elite list – twice it had been scored at Chepauk – Virender Sehwag boasts of 2 300s & Karun Nair made the other (for India) 

A couple of years ago,  Harry Brook was touted as one of the world's most exciting young players with a staggering run of form across formats, most particularly in England's rebooted Test team. After making his debut against South Africa in Sept 2022, Brook travelled to Pakistan and New Zealand with Ben Stokes' team, where he peeled off consecutive scores of 153, 87, 9, 111, 89, 54, and 186 to take his overall tally to 809 runs in nine innings, at an extraordinary strike-rate of 98.77.  If you remember right,   he was snapped up by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 13.25 crore !! 

 

It was a day four that England had dreamed of and Pakistan feared, and the most fascinating one for English fans, the docile Multan pitch offered.  A first Test that was drifting towards nothingness now stands poised in favour of England, who are on the cusp of another famous win in these parts. England's staggering 823 for 7, their third highest total and fourth overall, featuring Harry Brook's maiden triple-century of 317 and Joe Root's new career-best of 262, has laden this match with more history for themselves. Pakistan, meanwhile, plumbed new depths. 

Brook, who was born nine years after Gooch's 333 against India at Lord's in 1990, eventually finished on 317 from a remarkable 322 balls, displaying remarkable fitness and shot-making throughout. The 310 deliveries it took him to reach the milestone made it the second quickest to Test triple, 32 balls shy of Virender Sehwag's effort against South Africa in 2008.  He has thus far scored 4 centuries against Pakistan.    

Paki’s tale of woes was complete with hospitalistion of Legspinner Abrar Ahmed, being treated in a hospital in Multan after being taken ill. Abrar, who bowled 31 overs on day three against England, complained of a high fever and body aches on the morning of the fourth day, and did not take the field with the rest of his team-mates. 

The Test at Kingston in Apr 1930 meandered to a draw – with scorecard reading :   England - 849 & 272/9d;  West Indies (T:836) 286 & 408/5.   Batting first, in a timeless Test, Andy Sandham shared stands of 173 with George Gunn (85) for the first wicket, 148 with Bob Wyatt (58) for the second wicket, and 249 with Leslie Ames (149) for the fourth wicket, on the way to an England total of 849. West Indies replied with 286, but England did not enforce the follow-on, setting West Indies a target of 835 to win. After bad weather prevented any play on the match's eighth day, a draw was agreed with West Indies at 408 for 5, George Headley having scored 223. Andy Sandham’s was the first triple hundred in Tests. Sandham was 39 years and 275 days old, and playing his last Test match.   

England scored runs in a frenzy – 823 came off just 150 overs @ 5.48 !!  - Pak bowlers all have forgettable figures.   Shaheen Shah Afridi: 26-1-120-1; Naseem Shan 31-0-157-2; Abrar Ahmd 35-0-174-0;  Aamer Jamal 24-0-126-1; Salman Agha 18-0-118-1; Salim Ayub 14-0-101-2 !!! England could hardly have rushed any more – after all, only one of the 150 overs they faced was a maiden. They averaged 5.48 an over, a rate bettered only twice in the 3,861 Test innings that have lasted for 100 overs or more  

 
With regards – S Sampathkumar
10.10.2024