England batter Harry Brook admits defending champions "fancy" their chances of retaining their T20 WC crown
Jun 03, 2024
Barbados [West Indies], June 3 : England batter Harry Brook admitted that the defending champions fancy their chances of retaining their crown in the ongoing T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies.
Placed in Group B, England will begin their title defence against Scotland in Barbados on Tuesday. England possess a mix of talent and an experienced pool of players. Ahead of their opening game, Brook backed the Three Lions to retain their title.
"Everybody's really excited. We fancy our chances. We've got a very good side, good squad depth around T20 cricket and we're confident we can bring it home again," Brook said ahead of the game as quoted from Sky Sports.
Brook recently returned to competitive cricket in the County Championship with Yorkshire in April. On his return, he scored a 69-ball century against Leicestershire and celebrated it by looking towards the sky.
His grandmother, Pauline, fell ill in January and Brook subsequently withdrew from England's squad for the India Test tour while citing personal reasons and later on the Delhi Capital's squad in the Indian Premier League after the death of his grandmother.
"I had that long break - four or five months off - so I just tried to nail it as soon as I got home. I just tried to train as hard as possible, trying to lose a bit of weight and trying to get a bit leaner. It wasn't in the nicest circumstances but that time with family was the most important thing for me," he said while talking about his absence from cricket due to personal reasons.
"Trying to spend as much time as I could with my grandma at that time was the right call and I don't regret it for a minute. But I did try and nail as much practice and fitness as much as I could and get myself in the right headspace. I had been travelling a lot, so to have that little break from cricket was good and I was raring to go again when I went back and played for Yorkshire," he added.
England T20 WC squad: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.
