Prior to Thursday’s second ODI at Lord’s, Harry Brook has assured the England team that they will support Sonny Baker after the fast bowler had a disastrous debut in a lopsided series opener against South Africa at Headingley.
In his maiden ODI, 22-year-old Baker was dismissed for 76 runs in seven wicketless overs, the highest total ever given by an England bowler. His economy rate of 10.85 was the second-worst of any rookie who has bowled at least six overs in the format.
Before the toss, Baker’s day may have reached its zenith when his new teammate Jos Buttler, a fellow graduate of King’s College, Taunton, gave him his England cap in front of his family. Beginning with his own role in that scoreline—a first-ball duck thanks to Keshav Maharaj—he was in a precarious position after England was bowled out for 131 in 25 overs.
The ball for the first over of South Africa’s chase was subsequently given to Baker. His spectacular performances for Manchester Originals in the Hundred had given him an air of form and confidence going into the match, but his combined statistics of 6 for 81 in his previous 67 balls were insufficient to prepare Aiden Markram in a major hurry. Markram raced to a 23-ball half-century after his sluggish speed was smashed for three fours in his opening five balls and 56 in his first four-over performance.
“It’s probably not the ideal start, having to defend 130,” Brook said during the post-match speeches, adding that England had “no excuses” following a “wasn’t good enough” batting performance. We’re such a close-knit community. We all get along well. Together, we also spend a lot of time outside of the game.
“Everybody will get behind him,” Brook continued. This group’s nature is that.
Even though he had a difficult day, it was amazing to watch how he continued to dig deep and crack on, running in and trying to grab wickets for us even after receiving some tap. And we specifically requested each bowler to do it.
After South Africa’s 67-run powerplay, Brook acknowledged that England used the rest of the innings as a makeshift practice session and went back to Baker for a second spell in the 12th over, which was down the hill from the Kirkstall Lane End. He did better at first, giving up only two runs in his fifth over, but Markram and Ryan Rickelton kept hitting him after that, reaching 121 in 18 overs with their opening stand.
“I was just trying to get him a wicket, to be honest,” Brook explained. “With the ball, we obviously didn’t get off to the best start. I realized we were never going to win the game with the start they got. At the moment, it was only about trying to acquire him a pole and the boys trying to improve and advance the abilities they had been practicing and attempting to use in a game.
“The way that they chased that, with Markham coming out and going really ultra-aggressive, was the perfect way to chase a low score, especially in the powerplay, when you’ve only got one or two people out,” he said. “Defending it is difficult. Although [Baker] could have missed his execution on occasion, Markram made some incredible shots, so congratulations to him.”
With a century within striking distance, Markram fell to Adil Rashid after finishing with 86 from 55 balls.
Regarding his attack on Baker, he stated, “I definitely didn’t pre-plan anything,” “There is some excellent discussion about him and his skills, but I have never faced him before. Really, all I’m trying to do is watch the ball. If you can get ahead of him and get a few away early, you try to do that. However, you want to witness the action first. However, this will not always be the case. He will undoubtedly be a very excellent bowler if he has it together.”
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