Brook backs butchered Baker after chastising ODI debut

Harry Brook has promised that the England team will rally around Sonny Baker ahead of the second ODI at Lord's on Thursday, after the fast bowler endured a debut to forget in a brutally one-sided series opener against South Africa at Headingley.

Baker, 22, was taken for 76 runs in seven wicketless overs - the most-expensive figures ever conceded by an England bowler in his first ODI - while his economy rate of 10.85 was the second-worst by any debutant to have bowled a minimum of six overs in the format.

Baker's day arguably peaked before the toss, when, in the presence of his family members, he was presented his England cap by his new team-mate Jos Buttler - a fellow alumnus of King's College, Taunton. Thereafter, with England being bowled out for 131 inside 25 overs, he was on a hiding to nothing, starting from his own contribution to that scoreline: a first-ball duck courtesy of Keshav Maharaj.

Baker was then thrown the ball for the first over of South Africa's chase. He had come into the game with apparent form and confidence, courtesy of his explosive displays for Manchester Originals in the Hundred, but his combined figures of 6 for 81 in his previous 67 balls proved to be little preparation for Aiden Markram in a serious hurry. His skiddy pace was crashed for three fours in his first five balls, and 56 in his initial four-over spell, as Markram rushed through to a 23-ball half-century.

"It's not probably the ideal start, having to defend 130," Brook admitted at the post-match presentations, adding that England had "no excuses" after a batting display that "wasn't good enough".

"Everybody will get behind him," Brook added. "That's the nature of this group. We are such a tight-knit group. We're all good mates. We spend a lot of time away from the game together as well.

"He's had a tough day, but the way that he just kept on cracking on and digging deep, to keep on running in and try and get wickets there for us, even after getting a little bit of tap, was awesome to see. And that's exactly what we asked of every bowler."

With the game as good as over after South Africa's 67-run powerplay, Brook admitted that England treated the remainder of the innings as a de facto practice session, and turned back to Baker for a second spell - down the hill from the Kirkstall Lane End - in the 12th over. He initially fared better, conceding just two runs in his fifth over, but Markram and Ryan Rickelton continued to attack him thereafter as their opening stand reached 121 in 18 overs.

"I was just trying to get him a wicket, to be honest," Brook said. "Obviously we didn't get off to the greatest of starts with the ball. After the start that they got, I knew that we were never really going to win the game. It was just a matter of trying to get him a pole at that time, and the lads trying to develop and upskill their skills, that they've been working on in practice and trying to take them into a game.

"The way that they chased that, with Markham coming out and going really ultra-aggressive, was the perfect way to chase a low score, especially in the powerplay, when you've only got one or two people out," he added. "It is tough to defend. So [Baker] might have missed his execution the odd time, but Markram played some extraordinary shots, so hats off to him."

Markram finished with 86 from 55 balls, eventually falling to Adil Rashid with a century just about within his sights.

"I definitely didn't pre-plan anything," he said of his assault on Baker. "I've never faced him before, and there's some really good talk about him and his abilities. So really I just trying to watch the ball. You want to see the action first, but if you can get a few away early, and you can get ahead of him, then you try and do that. But it won't always be the case. If he's got it on a string, he'll be a really good bowler, for sure."