Brook is the one change to the England XI that levelled the three-match collection with a commanding victory within the second Test at Old Trafford after Bairstow was dominated out with a freak leg damage suffered taking part in golf.
This is how we’ll line up for our closing Test of the summer season! 💪🏴 #ENGvSA 🇿🇦 https://t.co/Qwm4Zm9Jbs
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Bairstow has been in stellar kind this yr, scoring 1,061 runs, together with six centuries, in 10 Tests.
“Harry is someone who has been spoken about a lot as representing England going forward,” Stokes mentioned on the Oval on Wednesday, on the eve of the deciding Test.
“It’s amazing how sometimes people’s opportunities get presented to them…. He deserved his opportunity to be in the squad initially and he deserves his opportunity this week.”
A Test debut for Harry Brook 👏🏴 #ENGvSA 🇿🇦
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The skipper mentioned he felt “devastated” for Bairstow, who will even miss the T20 World Cup in Australia, which begins subsequent month.
“He’s been a massive reason as to why we’ve had such a successful summer,” he mentioned. “It was a freak accident.”
But all-rounder Stokes added: “The way in which our middle order has been playing this summer, I feel as if Harry is coming in, the way he goes about his game with the bat in his hand is pretty much a like-for-like replacement.
“He’s at all times going to look to take the bowling on, take the constructive possibility. It’s clearly devastating to not have Jonny however I’m very excited we get a alternative with the talent Jonny possesses.”
Brook, 23, has played four Twenty20 internationals for England.
South Africa won the first Test at Lord’s by an innings and 12 runs, only for England to bounce back to win by an innings and 85 runs in Manchester during another match wrapped up inside three days.
“We know that South Africa are at all times going to remain within the sport and keep within the second,” said Stokes.
“We put the Lord’s defeat behind us and we focused on Manchester so I do know that Dean (Elgar, the Proteas captain) and the South Africa workforce will probably be doing the identical factor right here.
“I think it’s great for the series that it goes down to the wire. I know that South Africa are going to come out firing but it’s how we respond to the questions that they ask us.”
England workforce
Zak Crawley, Alex Lees, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Ben Foakes (wkt), Stuart Broad, Jack Leach, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson
