'Probably Best Test Batter In World Right Now': Ricky Ponting Hails Harry Brook

Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting feels England batter Harry Brook is currently the best Test batter in the world and his recent rise to become the No.1 ranked player is thoroughly deserved.

Notably, Brook scored his eighth Test century for England in a thumping 323-run victory over New Zealand in Wellington last week and it helped him overtake his teammate Joe Root and claim the top ranking for Test batters.

In the episode of The ICC Review, Ponting spoke about Brook's rise to the top.

Brook averages a whopping 89.35 at Test level away from home - in comparison to just 38.05 on home soil - and he has now made seven of his eight Test centuries outside of England.

"He probably is (the best Test batter in the world) right now. He is doing some pretty amazing things and most of them he is doing away from home," said Ponting.

"That's his seventh hundred now away from home out of eight or nine hundreds and it's the way he gets his runs, with class and he gets them quickly under this new regime and I love watching him play," he added.

Interestingly, Ponting had splashed out Rs 4 Crore at the Indian Premier League auction in 2023 as a coach of the Delhi Capitals to sign Brook.

While Brook didn't make it to the IPL in 2024 as he decided to stay in England due to a family issue, Ponting still remains a big fan of the new No.1 ranked Test batter and believes he can flourish in all formats of the game.

"I got him in the IPL auction last year because I think he's a generational type of player," Ponting noted.

"I think he's really starting to show that now at Test level and I think he can do the same across all three formats," he added.