During England’s dead-rubber Champions Trophy 2025 contest against South Africa in Karachi, former India spinner lauded the young batter. Ravichandran Ashwin took to ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) to plaudit the technique by Harry Brook for a front foot cover drive.
“If you had to teach a youngster how to hit a front foot cover drive, these pictures will be the perfect depiction. Look at how Harry Brook moves in to the ball (pic on the left ) and then his right leg ( back foot ) releases weight on to the toe (pic on the right ) to transfer the entire body weight on to the front foot. What a talent.”
If you had to teach a youngster how to hit a front foot cover drive, these pictures will be the perfect depiction.👌👌
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) March 1, 2025
Look at how Harry brook moves in to the ball (pic on the left ) and then his right leg ( back foot ) releases weight on to the toe (pic on the right ) to… pic.twitter.com/NqV7R7eZvs
Ashwin explained how the 26-year-old right-handed batter used the perfect methodology of a great shot. Using snapshots of Brook’s stance, Ashwin noted how the batter moves from left to right foot, i.e., from front foot to back foot to release the weight on the toes. This way, the body weight shifts to the front foot when Brook finally hits the ball. Ashwin reckoned this entire process as a “perfect depiction” to teach a youngster how to master the art of a front foot cover drive.
After a lousy start of England’s last ODI before heading back home, the middle-order batter was looking to build the fourth-wicket partnership. Walking in at the score of 37/3, Brook helped hold the fort with senior batter Joe Root sharing 62 runs from 61 balls. The 26-year-old showed intent with three cracking boundaries. When he tried to go big to clear the ropes, Marco Jansen took a wonder catch. Stationed at long-on, the Protea fielder covered the ground till mid-wicket. He slid on his knees but held the ball tightly for a breakthrough off Keshav Maharaj’s bowling.
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At the time of writing this report, England were all out for 179 in 38.2 overs. Joe Root (37) was the top scorer followed by Jofra Archer’s (25) efforts down the order. Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder were the pick of the bowlers with three wickets each. South Africa must chase the target within 50 overs in this must-win clash to reach the semi-final stage. If Aiden Markram’s fail, Afghanistan will sail through for the knockout stage next week.
England’s performance in the ongoing ICC event is to be analysed and talked about before the players regroup for a home Test series against India. Ahead of this clash, skipper Jos Buttler announced his decision to drop the captaincy role. His sudden albeit unsurprising move has further raised concerns over the team form.
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