Pak vs Eng – Joe Root – Harry Brook’s 317 is just the first of his ‘monster’ scores

Root and Brook spent 86.1 overs batting together for a partnership of 454, breaking the world record for the fourth wicket and England’s record for any wicket. Their stand halted England’s declaration of a lead of 267, allowing them to cruise to an innings victory despite scoring 556 in their first innings on a lifeless pitch.

“I hope so,” said Mpande. “You want to create an environment with a team where things keep getting better and better all the time. You want the guys who come in and play with that belief that they can go and do special things… If the guys in the future break records and England are in a good place and score a lot of runs, I hope so.

“I love playing with Brooky. I batted a lot with him in Yorkshire and to see him come into this team and fit seamlessly into Test cricket has been great. To get the chance to stand there on the other side and watch him go and smack 300 is great, really, and to know to get a big part of this school and that cooperation is very good for me.

“He has a complete game. He can take wickets everywhere, he plays the seam well, spins well and has a lot of pace, and that’s a good way to get runs. I’m not surprised at all about his going and doing something special like that, but I don’t think it will be the last time we see him he has a monster score to his name.”

Brook was 18 when he first played with Root for Yorkshire, and described him as a “mega” batsman. “It makes you feel comfortable when you look at him from the other side,” Brook said. “He makes the game look too easy when he bowls too late, and he makes the bowlers look slow… We just tried to find a good pitch.”

Root described Brook’s innings as a “masterclass” showing the strides he has made in his young career – not least the intensity that saw him spend seven hours in the middle. “One of the best things about Harry is that he’s a quick learner,” Root said. “He’s always been there, really.

“His natural game, the way he scores and plays freely, especially in the off-stump corridor, is exactly what you want in a middle-order man: to be able to put pressure on the best bowlers… He really wasn’t there. taking a lot of risks and putting his foot down and he can hit a 360 [degrees] and it makes it very difficult for both seamers and spinners to tie him down.

Brook joked after his innings that there was a time, not so long ago, that he might have “made 150 and had a slogan”, instead of going on to become the highest score in England’s history. But, after missing the tour of India and the subsequent IPL following the death of his grandmother earlier this year, Brook used the time to build up his fitness in training, and Root admitted the benefits were evident.

“He’s gone and worked really hard on his fitness,” he said. “That’s why you put training: not just from a physical point of view, being able to cope with it, but mentally. If you do that training that you really don’t want to do and you put yourself in the dark. practice, when you get there in the game, it’s a lot easier because you’ve done it before.”

Root has played down the importance of his position as England’s leading goalscorer, explaining that his ambitions go beyond that. “When I say that, I’m not saying it out of arrogance or anything,” he said. “I’ve never been driven by it. I’ve never been a person to have goals, because I feel like if you miss them, then you’ve failed.

“The biggest driver for me is how many games can we go on to win now throughout my career. How many games can you touch with the bat and contribute to? There’s no better feeling than that – especially in these conditions if that’s the case. It’s one way and it’s flat out – to be able to go and win a Test match tomorrow Very exciting.

“After that first innings in Pakistan, not many people would have encouraged us to go and do that. I think it’s something exciting, and something that keeps you going back and makes you want to turn to training and enjoy trying to find. ways to get better, opportunities like tomorrow I can’t wait to get back and hopefully do something special as a team.”