Harry Brook ready for Yorkshire CCC's big day after frustrating summer with England
The 23-year-old will captain the Vikings on Finals Day at Edgbaston – where they meet Roses rivals Lancashire in the semi-final – after being released from the one-day international squad.
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Hide AdIt is a familiar story for him as despite being named in the majority of England squads this summer across all formats, he has only managed three T20 appearances against India.
His release back to his county suggests he is not going to feature in Sunday’s decider against the Indians at Emirates Old Trafford, so he is grateful for the opportunity to play in the showpiece day of the county season.
“It is good for Yorkshire to have players back who have been around the England set-up and it is nice to be back for Finals Day,” he said.
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Hide Ad“I have never been a part of it before so hopefully I can try and get us some silverware.
“It has been frustrating, but that is part of being in the England set-up, to work your way in you have to be around it.
“You’re not going to just get straight in, it would have been a lot harder if I hadn’t been allowed to come back and play for Yorkshire. Having a couple of months off and not playing any cricket would have been difficult.
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Hide Ad“I am glad I have been allowed to leave the set-up and come and play some cricket.”
Brook made the journey on his own as Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Tykes captain David Willey were not made available by the England and Wales Cricket Board.
“He’s (Willey) one of our best players and he’s also our captain so he won’t be leading us out there tomorrow,” Brook added.
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Hide Ad“He is going to be a big miss, but with every miss comes an opportunity so hopefully one of the younger lads can step up and help us get a win.
“We’ve got a few players playing for England, but that’s what the big counties do, produce the best players. That is out of my control, who gets selected and we’d like them here, but that’s not to be.”
Lancashire are also robbed of two of their best batters in Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone, but Matt Parkinson and Phil Salt have been allowed to leave the international squad.
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Hide AdCaptain Dane Vilas is grateful for their return, saying: “The guys have been on fire for us in the Blast, they add great value to the team and hopefully they can perform. It is great to have them again.
“It would be nice to have the others back, they add a huge amount of batting to our team. Jos, the way he has been playing in the IPL and now for England has been incredible.
“We will miss him, every time he is in the team he adds a different dynamic. Livi’s all-round game would have been a huge asset for us. But we have lost players before in recent times and we have had to adapt.”