Harry Brook has expressed full support for young fast bowler Sonny Baker after a difficult first ODI against South Africa at Headingley, where England were crushed. Baker, 22, conceded 76 runs in seven overs without taking a wicket, recording the most expensive figures ever by an England bowler on debut. His economy rate of 10.85 was also the second-highest for a debutant bowling at least six overs.
Baker’s day started positively with the presentation of his England cap by Jos Buttler, but his debut quickly turned challenging. England were bowled out for just 131, leaving Baker to defend an almost impossible target.
“𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑. 𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂 𝒕𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕-𝒌𝒏𝒊𝒕 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑,” 𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
“𝑯𝒆’𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒌𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒘𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆.”
England Look Ahead While Supporting Young Talent
Brook admitted England had “no excuses” after their batting collapse but emphasized the team’s focus on development. Baker’s second spell showed slight improvement, conceding just two runs in his fifth over, though Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton continued to dominate, putting South Africa on course for an easy win.
“𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂 𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕, 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕,” 𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅. “𝑨𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒈𝒐𝒕, 𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆. 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆.”
Despite the heavy defeat, Brook highlighted Baker’s potential and resilience, encouraging the team to continue supporting the debutant as they prepare for the second ODI at Lord’s.
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