Jonny Bairstow’s bizarre injury robs England of a key player for Thursday’s third Test against South Africa, but it also opens the door for someone else – and the gap in England’s middle order will be filled by the massively promising Yorkshire batter Harry Brook.
Brook’s form in the early stages of this year’s County Championship – after 12 innings in the competition he averages 107.44 – was so good that he has spent the entire summer as next in line for a Test place, and his chance has finally arrived, albeit nearly two months after he last played a first-class match. It is five years since I first met him, when I coached England’s Under-19s on their 2017 tour of India, and as a result of what I saw then I have not been at all surprised by this success.
