2022 saw the meteoric rise of Old Sedberghian Harry Brook, who, in the space of just a year, made his IT20 debut, his Test debut, guided Lahore Qalandars to the Pakistan Super League title and was part of the T20 World Cup winning side, after defeating Pakistan in the final in Melbourne, Australia.
This astonishing year was topped off in December with a simply phenomenal display in the test series in Pakistan. In a historic 3-0 series win in Pakistan, Brook finished the series as top run scorer (468 runs) and was named Player of the Series. In the opening test in Rawalpindi, Brook notched his maiden test century, finishing with 153. His incredible form throughout the series saw him score a century in each of the three tests.
His batting displays across all formats of the game, made him a key target for many sides in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and in the IPL auction in January, it was Sunrisers Hyderabad who bid Rs 13.25 crore (Approx £1.3m) for Harry’s services, making him the 5th most expensive player in the auction.
None of this recent success will have come as a surprise to Harry’s mentor and long-time coach, Mr Martin Speight – Sedbergh School Director of Cricket. Before Harry was meeting up with the England side ahead of their test tour to New Zealand, we were delighted to welcome Harry back to Sedbergh as he spent a couple of hours in our cricket nets with Mr Speight, the same nets he would practise in during his time here.
After a quick catch up with some staff, including Winder Housemaster Mr Mahon, and Director of Rugby, Mr Mulholland, Harry and Mr Speight set to their training session in the sports hall, with plenty of onlookers who spent their morning break watching from the balcony.