Multan, October 10
England's flamboyant batter Joe Root has been left "shocked" by the pace Harry Brook has matured into the player he is now, following his record-shattering triple hundred in Multan Test against Pakistan.
On Day 4 of the opening match, Brook overshadowed England's most successful Test batter, Joe Root, with his sheer resilience, grit and drive to pile up runs on the board.
Brook who loves to bat in Pakistan, put on a class act, forged a 454-run partnership with Joe Root. The duo propelled the visitors to a mammoth score of 823/7 before Ollie Pope called back the on-field players to declare England's inning.
Root was left impressed with the way Brook carried himself on the crease, took the pressure off England's shoulders and shoved it back to Pakistan.
"Batting with Brook... he's a character, sometimes he makes you laugh without even trying. It's good fun. We've batted a lot together over the years for Yorkshire and England. It was brilliant, to stand at the other end and watch him play like that was just phenomenal," said Joe Root on Sky Sports Cricket.
For Root, the thing that most struck him about Brook's 317 was the way he has matured as a player at just the age of 25 years. For the 33-year-old, the most contrasting thing about Brook is his understanding of the game and the lack of sense he has outside the world of cricket.
"I knew how good he [Brook] was going to be. It was just a case of when he was going to figure it out. The pace at which he's matured into the player that he is is probably the one thing that has shocked me. But at the same time, it hasn't because of his work ethic, the way that he looks at the game," Root noted.
"For someone with so little common sense outside of cricket, the intelligence that he has when he's got a bat in his hand and the understanding of different scenarios and his own game is quite contrasting," he remarked.
England took centre stage at the end of Day 4 after a memorable outing with the bat. The bowlers drew inspiration from the record-breaking performance and removed six Pakistan batters to take the driver's seat before the final day.