Harry Brook reveals how Joe Root helped him join England's triple-century greats

Harry Brook produced an incredible 317 runs against Pakistan to forge himself a place in England's record books alongside legends such as Graham Gooch after scoring his triple hundred

Harry Brook had no idea he was joining the pantheon of England Test greats when he unfurled a magnificent triple hundred.

The 25-year-old Yorkshire star became only the sixth Englishman to achieve the feat, and the first since Graham Gooch in 1990, as he ransacked 317 from just 322 balls in the first Test against Pakistan. Brook’s monster 454-run stand with Joe Root, who had surpassed Sir Alastair Cook’s England record 12,472 runs on Wednesday, was the country’s highest for any partnership in 147 years of Test history.

But Brook admitted he was unaware that he was keeping such exalted company, and insisted he was more focused on “cashing in” to set up England’s victory charge.

He said: "I knew about Gooch but I didn't know about the other ones. It feels pretty good. It was a good wicket and I just wanted to cash in as much as possible.”

England piled up the fourth highest total in Test cricket history - 823 - before declaring and reducing Pakistan to 152-6 at the close on the fourth day, still 115 runs adrift. Former skipper Root, 176 not out overnight, eventually fell for a Test-best 262 and Brook added: “We had a lot of fun out there. It was hot and hard work but we enjoyed it.

"What comforts you the most when you are out there is how easy he makes it look. To watch how slow he makes the game look comforts you at the other end.”

Root revealed he knew a long time ago his Yorkshire team-mate would go on to be a star, saying: "I knew how good he was going to be, it was just a matter of when he was going to figure it out.

"The pace he has matured into the player he is is probably the one thing which has probably shocked me. But at the same time it hasn't because of his work ethic and the way he looks at the game. For someone with so little common sense outside of cricket the intelligence he has with a bat in his hand and his understanding of different senarios and his own game is quite contrasting.

"To see him go and play like that today was awesome and to be stood at the other end was a real treat."