England seems to have a new batting sensation who goes by the name of Harry Brook. He is already a world champion, having played for England in their team that won the 2022 T20 World Cup, and now he is making his mark on Test cricket.
Brook put the Pakistan Test team to the sword, and he has now added New Zealand to his list of victims. Brook is making headlines everywhere, and on his current trajectory, he will be the man surrounded by the hype when Australia arrives in England later this year to defend the Ashes.
England now favorites in the latest Ashes Betting
In the latest betting to win the Ashes, Australia are no longer the favorites to win with the sportsbooks. Pat Cummins’ team are now out to +150 with some bookmakers, with England now down to -110. The Ashes odds will slightly vary depending on which bookmaker you’re using, and some bookmakers in Australia have bonus code offers available when registering at the site that can be used on the series across outright and in-play markets. However, the majority of top betting sites now seem to be favoring the English to win the series.
This is a remarkable turnaround as roughly twelve months ago Australia were heavy favorites to beat England in the 2023 series. Then, just before the start of the Aussies’ tour of India, Pat Cummins’ team were the marginal favorites. Now the flip is complete, and it’s Ben Stokes’ England team who lead the way.
Will Harry Brook be able to handle the hype?
As is ever the case when heading into an Ashes series, the hype can sometimes get totally out of control. This year is set to be no different, and the chances are that when the sides line up for the 1st Test at Edgbaston in June, the hype around Brook will have reached fever pitch.
Brook has so far shown he has the temperament to deal with things. But he will never have experienced anything like this.
Can Brook handle the short ball?
Another thing that Brook has not experienced in his short international career is a sustained spell of top-class short-pitched bowling. He has faced bouncers, but not over a sustained period from Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood.
The Australian trio are as good as anybody at bowling to a plan, and they will believe they can work Brook over. So far, Brook has dealt with short-pitched bowling reasonably well. But the bowlers he has faced are not of the quality of the Aussie trio. England will be only too aware of this, and will no doubt have sessions planned with Brook to teach him how to best deal with top-class hostile bowling.
Whatever the condition of the two teams when the Ashes starts in June, one thing that is for sure is that the Australians will be up for the battle. So if they identify Brook as the main danger, they will go after him. Of that, there can be no doubt. Whether Brook can handle all this is the big question all cricket fans will be looking forward to being answered.