Harry Brook - the making of: From thumping balls and canny bowling at Burley-in-Wharfedale CC to Ashes vice-captain

However, that was until a nine-year-old Harry Brook would come out to bat and start hitting balls over deep mid-wicket into the boot of locals trying to make a pretty penny.

Brook only grew from there under the guidance of his grandparents, Tony and Pauline Brook, Keith Revis, his coach at Burley-in-Wharfedale Cricket Club, and later, the former England cricketer Martin Speight, at Sedburgh School.

That all led him to a point where this winter, starting on Friday in Perth, he will represent England and Yorkshire in the Ashes as vice-captain, off the back of an ODI series in New Zealand where he captained the side.

If Brook was to captain England at any point throughout the Ashes he would follow in the footsteps of Joe Root, Michael Vaughan and Sir Geoffrey Boycott in captaining England’s Test team having represented the White Rose.

Less than two decades ago, West Yorkshire club Burley-in-Wharfedale was at the centre of Brook family life, their old family home even neighbouring the clubhouse.

Burley-in-Wharfedale head coach Dave Cooper recalls seeing the 26-year-old for the first time when he said: “We’re talking about him being a toddler almost.

“His Dad was a good batter at Burley and during tea breaks and after games this little curly-haired lad would be hitting balls all over the show.”

Burley Cricket Club offers a pathway to all their players when they sign up for the Under-9s age group, highlighting how the players can progress.

Cooper says: “All the kids are inspired now by the fact that a normal guy from a normal family has gone all the way to England vice-captain.

“His Grandad, his Dad and all the Brook family were involved, encouraging him to play, bowling to him, underarm feeding.

“They would do that for hour upon hour, developing that hand eye co-ordination. You’ve got to be born with it but then Harry also had the worth ethic on top of that.”

Brook spent four years at Sedbergh School in Cumbria while he completed his GCSEs and A-Levels and during that time he would be awake at 6am doing fitness work and net sessions with Speight.

That work then extended while at home as Cooper recalls: “It had gone dark and I would pass by the club and just see this shadow of a boy running up and down in the mud.

“He’d be doing star jumps, squat thrusts, press-ups and he’d carry on working throughout October, November time.”

Keith Revis played at Burley before coaching Brook alongside his eldest son Daniel and now has a lifetime membership at the club.

Revis says: “What I remember most about him is that he was always so keen to do well and get better, we were lucky that we had really good facilities at Burley.

“We have a bowling machine, and Harry would always want it five miles an hour quicker than anybody else because he wanted to test himself and show that he could deal with that.”

Ever since coming into the England squad, Brook has been seen to be used as a part time bowler for Brendon McCullum’s side towards the end of a session or just before a new ball.

Revis said that this summed him up perfectly when he said: “If you came across him as an eight or a nine-year-old, he was just as keen with his bowling as he was with his batting.

“He played in the Airedale and Wharfedale junior league team and he opened the bowling as well as the batting.

“He took quite a lot of wickets in the Bradford League.

"Even though his bowling action looked very ugly he’s quite a canny bowler in the way that he can move the ball both ways.

“Knowing Harry and his confidence, I doubt he’ll be shy about putting his hand up to bowl, if there’s any chance, he’ll definitely be putting himself forward.”

Keith Revis, who is the father of current Yorkshire and England Lions all-rounder Mathew Revis, won a trophy run by Idle with the Under-9s team that Brook was a part of, alongside his eldest son.

Revis added: “Harry came along to be part of the team and obviously he was a standout player among four or five really good players who probably helped Harry.”

However, one thing that never left Brook was the importance of his grandparents in his development which he recalled around the time of his grandmother’s death in December 2023.

A statement he released on his Instagram page read: “She was a rock to me, and I spent a huge amount of my childhood in her home.

“My attitude to life and love for cricket was shaped by her and my late grandfather, it makes me so happy that she was able to see me play cricket for England.

“I'm proud that she could collect some of the awards I have won over the last couple of years when I couldn't be there and I know she enjoyed doing that.”

The Brook family and everyone at Burley-in-Wharfedale will proud to see Harry taking on Australia in the Ashes.