England batsman Harry Brook has been one of the players who has beautifully defined the bizzball era of Brendon McCullum; However, amid England’s tragic collapse in the Ashes, the batsman has admitted to playing ‘shocking’ shots which led to his own dismissal. Brooke has a clear goal of being more focused and calm in Adelaide.
England’s most lucrative tournament is not going on in the current edition of the Ashes. The England team, which is widely popular for its unique batting strategy, is struggling in the same area due to its ultra-aggressive batting style.
In this series, from time to time the English batsmen have lost their wickets on very loose balls and then cursed themselves. Although the England coach is determined to continue the aggressive approach, some players are beginning to have second thoughts.
Harry Brook talks about change in approach ahead of Adelaide Test, “Learning when to take a bit of pressure.”
England have struggled to maintain their excellent performance in the Ashes against Australia, with buzzball tactics failing on the island nation’s bouncy pitches. One of the players on whom England had pinned their hopes was England’s vice-captain Harry Brook.
Brook averaged 24.50 in the Summer Ashes and scored only 98 runs in 4 Test innings in Australia. He may have been unlucky to glove a ball down the leg side in the first innings of the First Test, but thereafter he was criticized for throwing away his wickets on wider balls.
Right-handed batsman Harry Brook admitted that he may need a bit of a change for the remaining matches of the series. “Sometimes we have to rein it in a bit,” Brook said as quoted by cricket.com.au.
Brook said, “Learn when to handle the pressure a little more and then realize when the opportunity comes to put the pressure back on them. I think I probably haven’t done that as well as I usually do in this series. There’s no reason behind it, I just haven’t recognized those situations well enough.”
“No, those were shocking shots,” Harry Brook admits his Ashes goof-ups
He was also questioned whether the bouncy Australian wickets contributed significantly to the dismissal, but Brook replied candidly, “No, they were shocking shots.”
He admitted to almost every mistake he made on those bouncy pitches, as he revealed that in Perth, he went to drive against a delivery which was almost a bouncer. Another big proof of his poor batting came when he was out while trying to hit a six in Brisbane.
Brook said, “I’ll be the first one to stand up and say those were bad shots. I don’t regret it, but if I were there again, I would try to play it a little differently.”
Harry Brooke confirmed, “Everyone realizes this, and we just have to stand up.”
After a second consecutive humiliating defeat at the Gabba, England captain Ben Stokes said his team needs to stand up and take notice and claimed there is no room for weaklings in his dressing room.
The England vice-captain also admitted that England have not been the best in pressure situations in this series, and hence they need to understand the game a little better to compete.
Harry Brooke confirmed, “Just have a little bit of patience and determination about yourself. It might be time to try and get them back. It might be time to assimilate.”
Also Read: Arshdeep Singh ruthlessly trolls Gautam Gambhir with ‘wide-ball’ celebration after Dharamshala heroics
