Being Off Social Media Apps Helping England Batter Harry Brook Deal With Mental Health
Brook had made a bright start to international cricket through crucial knocks in Test cricket, especially in England’s victorious tour of Pakistan and being a member of the Men’s T20 World Cup winning team in November 2022.
But in 2023, Brook struggled to get going for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2023, making 190 runs in 11 matches, including a century, after being bought for a whopping INR 13.25 crores in the auction. His struggles in India continued during 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup, averaging only 28.16 as England couldn’t enter the knockouts.
"I've been off social media for a while now. So anything I stumble across, I delete it from the phone...I think that's helped my game, helped my mental health and everything, to be off social media and seeing all the negativity that brings," he was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
Moreover, in an interview following his century against Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2023, Brook said he was glad to shut up critics, a comment which he regrets making. "In India you can end up sitting in your hotel room with not much stuff to do. I was an idiot and I said a stupid thing in an interview which I regret a little bit."
"I'd find myself scrolling Instagram or whatever, and you just come across stuff you just don't want to see, so I thought it was the right idea to get rid of it. I've obviously still got Instagram and Twitter but thankfully I've got someone running it for me."
Brook hasn’t played much ODIs, but made it to England’s squad for the tour of West Indies, making a run-a-ball 71 in the first ODI. Though he liked his innings in the match at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Brook admitted that he is yet to find the right tempo for himself in the 50-over format.
"I liked the way I went about my innings. I've struggled a little bit in this format at the start of my career. I haven't quite found the tempo of how I wanted to play. Until the summer I hadn't played anything. So yeah, I was just trying to figure out, find my feet in the format really and try to find a tempo with the way I wanted to bat."
"England have been renowned for being an aggressive side but there's always so much time. The other day was a perfect example of that. It was about nine overs from the end that I got out and I felt like I was sat up on the balcony watching for about three hours."