(Reuters) – Harry Brook has made an electric start to his test career but the England batsman will look to swap sixes for home runs this weekend when he joins up with Major League Baseball (MLB) team St Louis Cardinals at spring training.
Brook has notched four centuries and amassed 809 runs in only six tests, flourishing in England’s aggressive approach to the game, which has been dubbed ‘Bazball’ in a nod to coach Brendon McCullum.
The 24-year-old will try his hand at hitting home runs at the Cardinals camp in Florida as part of a new ambassadorial role with MLB Europe.
“I’m intrigued to see how different it is to cricket and what similarities there are too – will a home run feel as good as hitting a six?” Brook said in an MLB news release on Thursday.
“I’m also excited to learn from how other professional sportspeople go about their game and see if there are any transferable skills between batting in baseball and cricket.”
England fast bowler Issy Wong, 20, was also named an MLB Europe ambassador.
The Cardinals will face the Chicago Cubs in a two-game series at the London Stadium on June 24 and 25.
(Reporting by Hritika Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
