England cricketer Harry Brook is one of the fastest rising stars in the game and he is now set to switch sports for a bit, with the young batter getting ready to train with St. Louis Cardinals' training, a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. He along with England women's team bowler Issy Wong have been named MLB Europe Brand Ambassadors. Brook and Wong will display the MLB logo on their bats moving forward and connect deeper with baseball and the culture surrounding the sport. Harry Brook Becomes First Cricketer To Complete 800 Runs in Test Cricket Within Nine Test Innings; Achieves This Feat in NZ vs ENG 2nd Test, 2023.

Brook has had a terrific start to his Test career and has been setting records. The right-hander recently was named Man of the Series in England's Test series against New Zealand. He recently became the first batter in Test cricket history to score 800 runs in his first nine innings. Speaking about this partnership, Brook said,  "I’m really excited for this partnership and can’t wait to try my hand at hitting some home runs! I’m intrigued to see how different it is to cricket and what similarities there are too – will a home run feel as good as hitting a 6?! I’m also excited to learn from how other professional sportspeople go about their game and see if there are any transferable skills between batting in baseball and cricket. It’s going to be amazing to see baseball first-hand in the US and help spread the word back in the UK and hopefully help build baseball’s fan base here. I’ll be cheering on the Cardinals of course!”

Issy Wong on the other hand, is gearing up to be part of history as she will take part in the inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL) in Mumbai, which starts from March 4.  Issy has lived and breathed sport all her life and has been playing cricket at county level since she was just nine years old. Famed for her fast bowling as well as her big hitting, 20-year-old Issy is excited to create a more integrated relationship with baseball. Mumbai Indians WPL 2023 Squad and Match List: Get MI-W Cricket Team Schedule in IST and Player Names for Inaugural Women’s Premier League.

“This is an awesome opportunity to learn about pitching in baseball. I’m fascinated with the crossovers between the two sports and seeing what I can learn that may benefit my game, particularly in the field. I’ve already been practising my knuckleball! I’m also a little bit obsessed with the weird superstitions in cricket so it’s cool to learn about some in baseball too – like the curse of the billy goat! It’s brilliant to be part of the movement to introduce baseball to a new audience outside the US. Seeing the difference The Hundred has made here engaging with young fans and being part of the first WPL shows the appetite the next generation has for sport. It will be great to get the London Stadium really buzzing this summer and for British fans to see baseball at the highest level. Go, Cubs, Go!” she said.

Ben Ladkin – MLB Europe Managing Director too was pretty excited about this partnership as he said: “MLB’s goal in Europe is to introduce baseball to a new audience through content and event experiences. We are excited to work with Issy and Harry, who are superstars in cricket, and give them an opportunity to explore the world of baseball.”

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 03, 2023 12:36 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).