Harry Brook ‘completely focused on England’ as star batter, 24, ready to sign first multi-year central contract and snub riches of franchise cricket

From the soggy despair of an Old Trafford Ashes wash-out comes a ray of sunshine ahead of the final Test. Harry Brook is totally committed to an England future.

England’s brightest young star will, as Mail Sport revealed earlier this month, be one of the first players offered a multi-year central contract in an attempt to fight off the growing number of franchise leagues threatening to take over world cricket.

And Brook, only on an incremental England deal until October, confirmed he wants to remain a multi-format player for his country and will turn his back on what would remain the more lucrative option of cashing in on the T20 revolution.

‘Absolutely,’ said Brook when asked if he would be interested in a multi-year England contract. ‘I want to play cricket for England. I’m not bothered about all the franchise stuff. That’s a bonus but I’m completely focused on England.’

It may seem obvious for a 24-year-old with the cricketing world at his feet to want to carry on playing Test, one-day international and T20 cricket for his country but Brook’s stance is still significant and one that will reassure Rob Key at the end of this seismic Ashes.

England’s Harry Brook is to be one of the first players offered a multi-year central contract

England’s managing director wants to work with franchises rather than risk alienating his best players by banning them from the T20 leagues.

But it will become increasingly difficult for England to retain control over their stars, with IPL owners extending their power by buying franchises around the world and ready to target the best players on multi-club deals of their own.

Not that it is an issue with Brook. ‘If I’m playing in all three formats for England I don’t really feel there’s too much time for franchise stuff anyway,’ said Brook, who insisted no talks had yet been held over his new England deal.

‘The IPL is the only one that is really free for me to play in. There won’t be much thought needed (when England make him a multi-year offer).’

Brook was speaking at the Oval ground where he made his Test debut last year against South Africa at the start of a whirlwind 12 months that has seen him become one of the best talents in the game, making 10 scores of 50 plus in his first 18 innings.

Now he will play in the final Test attempting to make up for the crushing disappointment of Sunday’s damp squib of a Manchester draw by levelling this series and making Australia’s Ashes ‘triumph’ as hollow as possible.

‘That would be lovely,’ said the Yorkshireman when he pondered the possibility of Pat Cummins lifting the urn at the Oval on the back of defeat and a 2-2 Ashes draw. ‘It’s not nice to draw the series but it would lovely to not give them the privilege of winning it.

‘It’s a great shame the weather has ruined it for us because we would have been confident had we been going into this match at 2-2.

‘We were dominating the game at Old Trafford and I like to think we would have won but for the rain. So if we can win this week we can make it a moral Ashes victory.’

Brook made a bad start to his first Ashes before getting the balance right between England’s all-out attack and a slightly more responsible approach with 75 on his home ground of Headingley and then 61 in England’s Old Trafford runfest.

‘I feel like I was too reckless at first,’ said Brook. ‘There’s a fine line between being aggressive and reckless. So it’s just trying to find the balance and stick to it.

The 24-year-old wants to carry on playing Test, ODI and T20 cricket for his country

‘Whatever you do you know you have the backing of everyone in the changing room, whether you go out there and slog one straight up or you block it. So there’s a lot of freedom. I like to score runs and score them quickly so that’s what I try to do.’

And that backing Brook feels, has been the key to him becoming the quickest batsman in Test history to a thousand runs while averaging 64 from his first 11 matches.

‘I don’t think the last year would have happened for me under different management,’ he added. ‘I wouldn’t have had the freedom of everybody to go out there and play the way I have.

‘I’ve always felt I’m good enough to play Test cricket and score runs but I’ve exceeded my expectations so far. Now I’d like to add an Ashes century in a drawn series here.’