‘I’ve never seen it’ – Harry Brook shuts down ball tampering talk

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’ 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. But we’re here in Australia, we’re looking forward to this series and all we can do is concentrate on ourselves and getting ourselves as ready as possible.

“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.”

Brook posed for some cartoonish promotional pictures with opposite number Mitch Marsh, who experienced a more protracted examination having played in the infamous Cape Town Test that exposed Australia’s cheating in 2018.

The pair sat down to a mock afternoon tea on the outfield, a stark difference to the hostility that followed the tourists around the country during their Ashes defeat.

“I wasn’t expecting to have a tea with him, that’s for sure but, yeah, it’s a nice way to kick off the series,” Brook added.

“Australia against England is always a good series and we’re looking forward to kickstarting it. We’re very happy to be out here. We’re all really raring to go here at Optus Stadium, which is where the last Ashes started. It’s an amazing place to play cricket – the atmosphere when we played here was unbelievable.”

England will be hoping for a winning start 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.

They will have to do so without Jacob Bethell, whose injury problems have continued with a setback to the knee complaint which has kept him out since July.

He is heading back to the United Kingdom to see a specialist, with Brook noting: “It’s very disappointing and I know how hard he’s worked over the last few months to try to get back.

“I’m very disappointed for him, everybody is, and he’s a little bit upset at the moment, but hopefully he’ll be back as quick as possible.”