The hard yards that pushed Harry Brook to the very top

At 26, the Yorkshire batter will captain England’s white-ball sides against the West Indies. Richard Edwards talks to those who witnessed his drive to succeed from the beginning

- Richard Edwards

When Harry Brook pulled off his wonder catch in England’s first Test of the summer, Ben Stokes was left open-mouthed in amazement. It’s not the first time England’s new one-day skipper has elicited that kind of response.

“It was October, dark and pouring down with rain – you always stop to see what’s going on and I could see this silhouette running up and down the pitch, stopping for some star jumps, press-ups and then carrying on again,” says Dave Cooper, director of cricket at Burley-in-Wharfedale. “It was a 14-year-old Harry Brook. He had been told he wasn’t fit enough – how many people of that age choose to go out and do something about it, particularly in the Yorkshire winter! It’s what sets him apart.”

Last month Brook returned to the club to formally open the club’s new net facility. “We had to replace them – he had worn the other ones out,” laughs Cooper. It was more than just a ribbon-cutting exercise, though. Brook’s links to the Airedale & Wharfedale Senior Cricket League side are lengthy and enduring.

“He phoned me up in April and said, ‘Coops, I want a net with a bowling machine, could you cut me a strip on the square?’,” says Cooper. “So, at 7.30am on the Saturday morning, we were looking on the Bradford Council website to check out their noise abatement policy to see what time we could have a roller going. Turns out it was 7am, so if anyone had complained we were within the rules!”