Harry Brook has taken to Test cricket like fish to water ever since he made his debut in the format in September 2022. The 25-year-old notched up his maiden triple century in just his 19th Test match played against Pakistan in Multan. His triple ton was the second fastest (310 balls) in the history of the format and the pace at which he scored the runs enabled England to cross the 800-run mark in response to Pakistan's 556 in the first innings.
Going by his Test career so far, Brook looks ready to be included in the Fab 4 of the new generation. The approach to Test cricket of this generation is completely different and the way Brook is batting, this could be the start of a new era in the longest format. He has scored 1875 runs in 19 Tests at an average of 62.5 with six centuries and nine fifties to his name and his career-best score is 317 already.
His numbers are much better than India's Virat Kohli who had scored 1178 runs after 19 Tests at an average of 40.62 with four centuries and six fifties to his credit. During this period, Kohli was still settling into the Indian team but soon he also got the captaincy in December 2014 after MS Dhoni decided to retire from the format.
Harry Brook vs Fab 4 - Stats comparison after 19 Tests
| Players |
Innings |
Runs |
Average |
50s/100s |
Best Score |
| Harry Brook |
31 |
1875 |
62.5 |
9/6 |
317 |
| Virat Kohli |
32 |
1178 |
40.62 |
6/4 |
116 |
| Joe Root |
36 |
1447 |
46.67 |
5/4 |
200* |
| Steve Smith |
36 |
1241 |
37.6 |
5/4 |
138* |
| Kane Williamson |
35 |
1075 |
31.61 |
5/3 |
135 |
Joe Root, Brook's teammate, already had a double century to his name by 19 Tests and had scored 1447 runs (fewer than Brook) at an average of 46.67 with four centuries and five fifties. Two more players in the current fab four - Kane Williamson and Steve Smith - were also not better in terms of stats after playing the first 19 Test matches in their respective careers.
Well, it is still a long shot to predict if Harry Brook will be able to match the legacy of the current Fab 4 as all of them have played more than 100 Test matches in their careers. But one can see him take the right steps to match or even better their record in the years to come.
