Harry Brook: The making of England's new batter

Harry is keeping the washing line running.

There is a garden that overlooks a cricket club.

Yorkshire, Northern Superchargers, and the Hobart Hurricanes. An England shirt is on the way as well.

"She likes doing my washing," said brook. She is lying if she says she does not like it.

I might have some smelly kit since she has been on holiday.

The journey to becoming an England men's Test cap number was begun at Burley.

Tony was a club stalwart. There is a bench named after him. The sons of Tony played. David is a relative of Harry.

"Come rain or shine, I was in the nets with my dad, grandad and uncles," says brook, who will make his Test debut batting at number five in the series decider against South Africa at The Oval.

The modern batter knows that the young right-handed pitcher is every inch them. He has four Twenty20 international caps to his name and is enjoying the best red-ball summer of his life.

Three of his seven first class hundreds came this year. The 140 he made for the England Lions against the South Africans was not accorded first-class status because it featured more than 11 players.

With the aggression that characterizes the new England team, brook is an opener as a young person. He has a lot of options when it comes to his batting.

The man held the bat the wrong way.

According to David Cooper, the young Harry brook held the bat with the bottom hand at the top.

He hit the ball despite that. He wanted to hit balls.

In the men's second and third teams, he scored half-centuries and was in the first XI. He was awarded a scholarship to the prestigious Sedbergh School in Cumbria, which is known for producing rugby internationals and has a reputation for cricket.

At that point, he had decided to go the extra mile in his pursuit of a career in cricket.

He was told he wouldn't make a county cricket team because he couldn't field a ball. He was carrying more weight.

He thought about it. I watched as he ran up and down the field, then dropped to the ground for sit-ups and press-ups.

The fitness work continued for two hours a week with an athletics coach, but it was under the guidance of Martin Speight that he learned to hit the ball.

Speight starts in the nets at 6.20am on Mondays to Fridays. Every morning, he trained.

If Mark Shopland ever puts a bet on a lad to play for England, he should put it on this lad. He put a lot of money on him.

brook hit six sixes in one over He made his debut for the first team when he was in the sixth form.

The Wilson Run is a 10 mile race across the Cumbria fells that has been held since 1891.

He broke his hand on the England Under-19s tour to India but still wanted to run the Wilson Run.

He completed it in less than an hour. That's a great effort.

The University of New South Wales, which used to be the club of Australia's international cricket players, was in the grade cricket competition.

According to team-mates, Brook had a good time living on campus.

He offered his place as a place to kick on and have a few beverages after a night out, but it was a one-bedroom dorm.

It's not a palace and you can't have five or six of us there for drinks.

brook averaged more than 60 with the bat on the field

He used to advance a lot when he was an opening bowler. The man made a hundred against the team. There are hedges at either end of the field, and I remember him hitting the fast bowlers back over their heads.

They said he was just out there for himself. He was having a good time with it.

It was just someone who supported his ability. Harry had a clear mind, even though some of the other English cricketers overthink it. He was good at what he did and he backed himself.

He made his England debut in a T20 international. Though he has only played in the shortest format of the game, he has been a constant presence in the squad and looks like a multi-format player in the future.

He gets his chance as a result of Bairstow's broken leg, fulfilling the prediction of current Test skipper Ben Stokes, who earmarked brook as a future england player when they were together at Northern Superchargers last summer.

The time they have at the crease and the shots they play are things that stand out to certain players.

There is something that puts them above other people who you see play.

The new Test team-mates are not always complimentary about one another.

He's a bit dumb, but that's what makes him a good player. I have also been called dumb a lot.

The response from brook?

My cricket brain is all right, even though I wasn't very good at school.

It doesn't matter He can let his batting do the talking and then wash his grandma's house.