Brook and Agha don’t have Tourette’s

 What is it with Harry Brook and Pakistan’s bowling? He got his highest score in T20 ODIs against Pakistan, and his maiden century, a neat 100 at Pallekele against Pakistan in the Super Eights stage, which took his team into the seminfinals, and virtually meant Pakistan’s elimination. There is still a chance of qualification, but any qualification involving run rate, and Naseem Shah’s grandmother’s date of birth, can’t be good.

Harry Brook also got a triple-century against Pakistan, 317 at Multan, on their last tour, in 2024-25. That was after he had whacked three centuries on England’s previous tour of Pakistan in 2022-23. He’s so far played only one ODI against Pakistan, a World Cup semifinal, in 1993, when he made a workmanlike but not scintillating 30 in a total of 337 for 9, which proved enough to sink Pakistan by 93 runs.

Brook’s top score in ODIs is 136 not out, made against Sri Lanka. Well, he’s yet to come up against Pakistan in an ODI or T20 series, or else he’ll do something astounding. It’s interesting that it was the first ever hundred by a captain in a T20 World Cup.

Pakistan’s captain, Salman Ali Agha, thus saw it as upsetting the balance of the universe, which he was personally ensuring was kept in check by his own score of 5. That he then followed by a firm and uncompromising duck against Sri Lanka. But you can’t really argue with him,f0r Pakistan won that match, and kept its hopes for a semifinal berth alive. He has not had the best of tournaments, with a top score of 38 against Namibia. In fact, the only other time he got into double figures was when he made 12 against the Netherlands. Lest anyone got the impression that he was an Associate-member bully, he was gracious enough to the USA to make only 1 against them. Or was that only diplomacy? These days, we will try anything to keep in good with the USA. But we still won the match. Iran, by the way, was not at the T20 World Cup. Or I don’t know what Trump would have done.

After six matches, he was averaging 10. That should not make anyone dislike Salman Ali Agha. I am sure he’s kind to animals and spends his spare time volunteering in informal schools for disadvantaged children. But that average would be more appropriate for a fast bowler. Besides, if you take away that 38 against Namibia, his average falls away to 2.44, which even bowlers would not proclaim in an attempt to be pushed up the order.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka was knocked out of the tournament at the group stage, as was Australia. Both are going for investigations, both are going to have heads rolling. Pakistan is not out of the tournament at the time of writing, but if it was, would there be any fact-finding or head-rolling? It’s like the economy, you see; the IMF controls it. Similarly, the Bombay Bookies determine what happens in Pakistan and India cricket. So any head-rolling would merely mean they would have to find somebody else who would be compliant, and ensure that theory can get the results they want, and ensure that the run of play is what they want.

The BAFTA Awards are supposed to be a precursor to the Oscars, though after what happened there, one hopes they aren’t. One of the nominees, who suffers from Tourette’s Syndrome, unleashed the N-word at some point, and it also got broadcast. Now everyone associated with the Awards is bending over backwards trying to prove that they wouldn’t use the N-word.

It seems you can’t use the N-word these days, even though everyone knows what it is. Tourette’s involves a lot of involuntary movements, or tics, and includes verbal or phonic tics. So the offending use of the N-word meant someone had been using it in front of him. Are we to suspect the film crew now? And that particular symptom (shouting inappropriate words) is supposed to be rare.

So what is BAFTA supposed to do now? Make sure nominees don’t suffer from Tourette’s?