England’s most gifted shotmaker since Kevin Pietersen happily took on Bumrah and Siraj on his way to 99
Scientists say that the typical human can recognise 21 distinct facial expressions. After seven years of Test cricket, Jasprit Bumrah has grown to know a good handful of them about as well as any man can, from awe, through disgust, to fear, sadness, surprise and all their many combinations. You would guess it’s been a while since he’s seen a happy batter looking back at him from 22 yards, but if you had the binoculars on Harry Brook first thing on Sunday morning, you could see he was wearing such a big, goofy grin that his teeth were glinting through the gloaming.
You don’t want to kink-shame him, but you’d think there must be easier ways to get your kicks than to go running down the pitch to hit a man bowling 90mph bouncers. But Brook’s brain seems to be wired a little differently. On the third ball Bumrah bowled him on Sunday, he decided to take two quick steps forwards and wallop it through the covers for four.
Written by Andy Bull at Headingley
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/jun/22/harry-brook-jasprit-bumrah-mohammad-siraj-england-india-first-test-cricket under the title “Harry Brook smiles and riles India’s attack with swagger and fortune | Andy Bull”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
