ENG vs NZ | Wouldn’t know exactly what to do as captain against him, Alastair Cook praises Harry Brook

After beating New Zealand by 267 runs in the first Test of the two-match series, England continued their momentum with a strong start on the opening day in Wellington. The visitors were reduced to 21/3 at one stage on Friday but they scripted a comeback courtesy of a superb partnership between Harry Brook and Joe Root. Brook played a sensational knock of unbeaten 184 runs from 169 balls. The youngster garnered praise from many for his diverse strokeplay during his stay at the crease. 

"I wouldn't know exactly what to do as a captain against a man in Brook's form, because he's got every option covered," Cook said on BT Sport.

"They quite rightly tried to bowl top of off to him, he had some luck at the beginning, a couple of inside edges past the stumps. But some of these shots you can only dream of and the confidence to play them and the skill to be able to consistently hit cleanly in the right areas - it's been an absolute pleasure to sit here and watch a Harry Brook masterclass.”

Brook has amassed 807 runs from nine Test innings so far with an average slightly above 100 and has scored four tons during this period. The English batter is considered to be the next big thing in English cricket by many former cricketers. Cook has also added to the list saying that the batter will dominate all formats and will definitely play more than 100 Tests. 

"184 not out on day one of a Test match after being 21-3, striking at over 100, it's extraordinary when you start breaking it down like that. I'd be astonished if he doesn't play over 100 Test matches. I'm expecting him to be able to dominate Test cricket, 50-over cricket, 20-over cricket, be one of the all-time great players - without putting too much pressure on him!" he stated.