Harry Brook sends bullish message to Australia’s bowlers ahead of the Ashes

Ever since facing his grandmother’s barely hostile bowling in her backyard, Harry Brook has been dreaming of the moment Friday will come in Edgbaston.

An Ashes debut in just his third home Test is the fulfillment of an ambition Brook has had since taking those first cricket steps as a toddler at Burley in Wharfedale.

“This is definitely a childhood dream,” said the man who has taken international cricket by storm over the past six months. ‘To play in my first Ashes. My dad always said that as soon as I could talk I would say I wanted to play for England. And here I am now.

“I actually watched some old videos of my grandma throwing some balls at me. There were some shock absorbers. I’ve never had such a bad throw in my life!’

That dream, like so many of Brook’s generation, was inspired by the Ashes of 2005, including “the greatest Test” in the same English fort on a property in Edgbaston.

“That series was the big one,” Brook continued. “I always remember Andrew Flintoff bowling against Ricky Ponting here. And then KP hit it all over Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath and them guys. They were my earliest memories.’

Now Brook can try to emulate Kevin Pietersen and topple modern Australia after a ‘swirling’ introduction that saw him crush four hundred in his first seven Tests, all in that ultra-positive Bazball style, averaging 81.80 and makes his runs at a staggering score of 99.03 per hundred balls.

It is now the young Yorkshireman’s turn to inspire a generation as part of England’s almost evangelical plan to save Test Cricket. “That’s the goal,” he said in his no-nonsense, confident, down-to-earth way. “I’m going out and trying to play the same way I’ve been for the past 12 months. Hopefully that’s enough to inspire a few.’

The extraordinary start to a career that saw the 24-year-old also become a Twenty20 World Cup winner and earn a £1.3 million IPL deal with Sunrisers Hyderabad has taken even Brook by surprise.

“I probably didn’t think I’d have this start, but I’d take it any day of the week,” he smiled. ‘The last six months in particular have been a whirlwind. It was the best winter I could have wished for and long may it last.

“Now I’m looking forward to this. Australia is one of the best teams in the world, getting here thanks to a World Cup victory. I’ve always wanted to play against the best and see how good I really am. Not that I really care who’s bowling against me. They’re good, but it’s just another cricket ball coming at me.’

Brook still has one big test left and it will come in the form of high-quality, short-pitch, fast bowling, the likes of which he didn’t quite encounter while conquering both Pakistan and New Zealand. But he’s ready for whatever Pat Cummins and company throw at him – even if it’s quite a step up from Grandma Pauline in her yard.

“We’ve got quite a bit of short stuff in New Zealand to be honest and I feel like I’ve fought it off pretty well,” added Brook. “Of course Australia has a bit more speed, but if they bowl faster, it will go faster to the border.”

Australia has been warned.