World Morning Star
Brook focused on Australia series amid fresh sandpaper scrutiny
ENGLAND captain Harry Brook insists he never witnessed any ball tampering in his career. Brook was part of the squad that received a hostile welcome when they arrived in Australia for last year’s ill-
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Brook was part of the squad that received a hostile welcome when they arrived in Australia for last year’s ill-fated Ashes series but has seen his own squad go almost unnoticed ahead of eight white-ball internationals between the old rivals.
The same Australian media that hammered Ben Stokes’s Test team from the moment they landed 12 months ago are looking closer to home this time around, with Usman Khawaja’s explosive new book putting the 2018 sandpaper scandal back on the agenda.
Brook was four years away from making his international debut when that drama first unfolded and he offered a brief but emphatic response when asked for his own experiences of the practice ahead of the first ODI in Perth.
“I’ve never seen any ball tampering before,” he said.
“I wasn’t in that [Australia] dressing room. I think I was about 17 or 18 years old, so I was completely oblivious to any of that stuff.
“We’re just trying to concentrate on ourselves at the minute. That’s all we can do. We’re here to play against a strong Australian side in their backyard.”
Joe Root, whose first captaincy reign coincided with the sandpaper saga, had previously dismissed the narrative that tampering was commonplace among international teams at that time. Speaking 24 hours earlier, he said: “I can only speak from my own experiences and that’s not how I feel, no.”
England will be hoping for a winning start on Friday after losing the first Test inside two days on their previous visit to Western Australia. Even using their allotted 50 overs would be an improvement of sorts after being bowled out in 32.5 and 34.4 in that manic contest.