ETHAN BROOKES has credited his schoolboy days as a hockey player as key to helping him develop his trademark sweep shot. 

The all-rounder, who recently suited up for Worcestershire in the Hong Kong International Sixes, finished as Worcestershire's leading run-scorer and was voted the club's T20 player of the year last season when selected for the Vitality Blast. 

During this period, Brookes often used his sweeping shot to great effect, with it becoming somewhat of a trademark for the 23-year-old. 

He said: "I spent a lot of time practicing that shot when I was younger. I played quite a bit of hockey which maybe helped. I did three or four years of that at Solihull School and I played some shots at hockey which translated in sweeping well at cricket.

"It certainly benefitted me and then you take that into cricket and the bowling machine and it went on from there.

"The sweep shot is something I definitely can keep improving. There are some little technical bits you can always improve. It is a strength I quite enjoy and know, more often than not, it will work out on the pitch."