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England captain Harry Brook has supported his debutant pacer Sonny Baker, who recorded miserable figures on his maiden One-Day International (ODI) game against South Africa at the Yorkshire Cricket Ground. In the opening ODI against the Proteas, the home side faced a crushing seven-wicket defeat. Batting first after losing the toss, England struggled to counter the challenge from Keshav Maharaj. The hosts got bundled out on 131 after playing 24.3 overs and Maharaj took a four-wicket haul in his 5.3-over spell and emerged as the highest wicket-taker in the match.
Pursuing the target, South Africa opener Aiden Markram looked relentless and hammered English bowlers mercilessly. Sonny Baker also became his victim as the top-order batter collected runs against the pacer aggressively. Eventually, riding on Markram’s 86 off 55, the Protea side completed the chase in just 20.5 overs with seven wickets in hand. Baker, after bowling his seven-over spell, splurged 76 runs and got no wickets.
Following Baker’s underwhelming bowling show, Brook displayed support for Baker during the post-match presentations. "Everybody will get behind him. That's the nature of this group. We are such a tight-knit group. We're all good mates. We spend a lot of time away from the game together as well. He's had a tough day, but the way that he just kept on cracking on and digging deep, to keep on running in and try and get wickets there for us, even after getting a little bit of tap, was awesome to see. And that's exactly what we asked of every bowler," remarked Brook.
England will have to win the second ODI to keep the series alive for them
After the hammering in Leeds, England will have to win the second ODI, set to be played at the iconic Lord’s on September 4. Brook will want his batters to be disciplined as they looked completely out of rhythm in the opening contest.
Except for Jamie Smith, all English batters failed to be effective. Veterans Joe Root and Jos Buttler could produce only 14 and 15 runs respectively. Skipper Brook also struggled with his bat as he got run out after amassing only 12 off 18.
