Im Not In Same League As Him: Harry Brook Heaps Massive Praise On Joe Root Ahead Of 4th Test Against India
Notably, Root recently climbed atop the ICC Men's Test Batting Rankings following a century during England's thrilling win in the Lord's Test against India.
"Everybody wants to be number one, don't they? Him (Root), probably more than anybody else," Brook said in the pre-match press conference.
"He's a phenomenal player, I'm not in the same league as him. I'll happily let him have it. He's played for 12-13 years. In my opinion, he is the best Test batter of all time. So, I'll let him have that," he added.
England's white-ball skipper also recalled the moment when he first climbed atop the Men's Test Batting Rankings during England's tour of New Zealand last year.
"He did (speak to me about it) the first time, when we were in New Zealand. He gave me a handshake. And then he took it off me, three days later," Brook said on a lighter note.
Notably, both Brook and Root have contributed with the bat during England's ongoing five-Test series against India. While Brook has 314 runs to his name in the series, Root has scored 253 from the three Tests, each of them boasting a century each.
The hosts are currently 2-1 up in the five-match series but Brook believes England will err on the side of caution, given India's bouncebackability.
"Obviously, we're in a strong position. We're happy with the way the games have gone so far. They've been tense, they've been good to watch. We're looking forward to this week. Another different challenge, depending on the surface. But yeah, India are a very strong side," said Brook.
"They can bounce back at any stage. We saw that after we beat them in Headingley, they came back and had excellent form at Edgbaston. We're going to go out there and do our thing," he added.
The fourth Test between England and India will begin from July 23 at Old Trafford, Manchester.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
"2 Yorkshire Players...": Michael Vaughan's Cheeky Take As Joe Root Closes In On Sachin Tendulkar's Record
As Joe Root jumped from fifth to second in the all-time list of run scorers in Test cricket, former England captain Michael Vaughan made a cheeky remark on social media, sending fans into overdrive. Root, who slammed 150 in the first innings of the 4th Test against India in Manchester, made a huge leap in the all-time run-scorers list, overtaking Rahul Dravid (13,288 runs), Jacques Kallis (13,289), and eventually Ricky Ponting (13,378) on Day 3 of the contest at Old Trafford. Root now trails Sachin Tendulkar, who finished his career with 15,921 Test runs, in the all-time list. Tendulkar retired from international cricket in 2013. With Tendulkar and Root now first and second in the list, Vaughan made an interesting claim saying that it is nice to see two Yorkshire players top the charts. While Root plays domestic cricket for Yorkshire, Tendulkar is one of the three Indian players to represent the county side. He did so in 1992. Only Yuvraj Singh and Cheteshwar Pujara are the other players to do the same. "It's so good to have 2 Yorkshire players at the top of the all time Test runs list," Vaughan wrote on X. It's so good to have 2 Yorkshire players at the top of the all time Test runs list ... #ENGvIND — Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) July 25, 2025 England vice-captain Ollie Pope said he won't be surprised if Root overtakes Tendulkar to become the all-time leading run getter in Tests. "He loves playing for England in Test cricket more than anything so I'm sure if his body obviously be driven to make it to number one but I think he just wants to keep playing for as long as he can. "The excitement he still has to play Test cricket, he's always got the biggest smile on his face. The hunger he has for it, I wouldn't be surprised if he can chase him down," said Pope, who scored 71 in day three to help England reach 544 for seven at stumps. Was Root aware about moving past Ponting in the leading run getters list? "He's not a big one for landmarks, but that's a pretty cool one. Becoming second highest Test run-scorer is just incredible. I'm sure he knew what that number was but he's not a guy who wants to shout about those things as well. "Hopefully, we can get a win and if we put ourselves in that position, then he'll enjoy that even more but it's a pretty cool thing to have," said Pope.
India Today
2 hours ago
- India Today
Sachin Tendulkar's debut was before I was born, grew up trying to be like him: Root
England batting stalwart Joe Root has paid a glowing tribute to Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar, saying he grew up trying to emulate the iconic batter. Root, who recently surpassed Ricky Ponting to become the second-highest run-scorer in Test history, fondly recalled sharing the field with Tendulkar during his debut series in who made his Test debut in 1989, had already become a household name by the time Root was born the following year. "He made his Test debut before I was born. To be playing on the same ground as him, to get the chance to play against him was incredibly cool," Root told BBC Sport. "He was someone I grew up watching, admiring, and trying to learn from. To be on the same field, watching him go about things throughout that series-it was a memorable experience. I'll never forget it."advertisementRoot made his debut in Nagpur during England's tour of India, a series that marked one of the final chapters in Tendulkar's glittering career. More than a decade on, the Yorkshireman now has 13,409 runs from 157 Tests, surpassing greats like Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, and Ricky Ponting. Tendulkar, widely considered the greatest batter of all time, retired with 15,921 runs from 200 Tests. Asked whether he's eyeing Tendulkar's all-time record, Root was quick to downplay the milestone. "It's not something I focus on. Those sorts of things should take care of themselves. The aim has to be winning matches, setting them up if we're batting first, or chasing down targets if we're in the second innings. It might sound a bit boring or methodical, but ultimately that's what I need to do to help England win-and that's why we play the game."Root's 120th run during England's first innings in the Manchester Test saw him go past Ponting's tally of 13,378 runs. Earlier in the same knock, he had also overtaken Dravid and Kallis. Reflecting on the achievement, Root recalled his admiration for the former Australia captain. "I saw Ricky Ponting this morning. Ricky's someone I grew up admiring, watching, trying to emulate. I used to try to copy his pull shot in the garden or at my local club-he's obviously world famous for that. So even just to be spoken about in the same breath as those guys is pretty cool."The Old Trafford crowd rose to its feet to applaud Root's landmark, but the 33-year-old remained grounded. "It was a great day for batting, first and foremost. It was really quite special to experience the whole ground standing like that for you-an incredibly nice feeling. But at the same time, you've got a job to do. It's a big moment in a big series, and ultimately, that's what you play for: to help your team win, whether it's setting the game up or chasing a total. The crowd's reaction was obviously very touching, but there's always a bigger fish to fry."- EndsYou May Also Like
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
'When Shubman Gill scored 269, it was all like, who is Virat Kohli? Who is Rohit Sharma?': Nasser's ruthless swipe
Shubman Gill's maiden series as India captain is quickly turning into a trial by fire, with criticism mounting over his on-field decisions. While Gill made an excellent start to the series with the bat, scoring two centuries and a double ton across his first four innings, his outings – both as batter and captain – have taken a hit over the past two matches. India's captain Shubman Gill (L) leads his team off the field at the end of the first innings on day four of the fourth cricket test match between England and India at Old Trafford, in Manchester(AFP) Gill's decision-making has been under the scanner, particularly in the fourth Test, where his decisions with bowling rotations were criticised by many former cricketers. A major flashpoint has been his handling of Washington Sundar, who was left underutilized despite conditions that clearly warranted his early introduction. In a Test where spin played a defining role, Sundar wasn't introduced into the attack until the 60th over mark, despite the spin-bowling all-rounder picking a four-fer during the second innings in the Lord's Test. With Gill facing significant flak, former English captain Nasser Hussain – who was among the ones critical of Gill's decision surrounding Sundar's introduction into the attack – had some advice for the young captain. Nasser insisted that the public opinions can be fickle, and that Gill should switch off from social media and focus on his captaincy. 'Especially as a young Indian captain… there's no middle ground. When he was getting 260-odd at Edgbaston and winning the Test match, it was all like, 'who is Virat Kohli? Who is Rohit Sharma? We have moved on'. Then you have a couple of bad games, the series starts going away from you, then every decision is picked on,' Nasser told Sky Sports Cricket. 'The key to it is to stay off social media. You are a young learning captain. Learn from this experience. If you are a batter or a bowler, you are not an end product at the start. It's the same with captaincy,' said the former England skipper further. Sundar showed what India missed soon after he was introduced into the attack, taking two quick wickets. However, England, who had already been in a strong position by the time Sundar came on, capitalised on their solid foundation and posted a mammoth score of 669 in the first innings. England lead by 311 Thanks to the centuries from Joe Root (150) and Ben Stokes (141), as well as fifties from openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, England dominated the Indian bowling attack, which lacked the sharpness for most of the innings. The hosts are now in a prime position to take an unassailable series lead in Manchester, with India requiring an extraordinary effort from their batting unit to salvage a favourable result.
