England national cricket team’s newly appointed Test vice-captain Harry Brook has shared his views on Australia national cricket team captain Pat Cummins reportedly not playing in the first Test of Ashes 2025-26.
Harry Brook said that Pat Cummins has been an amazing bowler for a long time and he expects the English team to play Down Under in his absence.
Harry Brook wants to bring home the urn of ashes
Ben Stokes-led England will be in Australia in November, December and January for the marquee Ashes series. The first Test will be held at the Optus Stadium in Perth from 21 to 25 November, followed by the second Test at the Gabba, Brisbane from 4 to 8 December.
Then, the third Test will be held at the Adelaide Oval from December 17 to 21 and the fourth Test will be hosted by the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) from December 26 to 30. The series will conclude at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) from January 4 to 8, 2026.
England’s performance in Australia has been very poor, but this time they will be expected to perform better. The news of Pat Cummins struggling with injury and possibly not playing in the opening match of the series has increased his chances of performing well.
Talking about this, Brook said that the absence of Pat Cummins is good news for England, but other Australian bowlers cannot be taken lightly.
“He’s an amazing bowler and has been for many years,” Brook said at the PCA awards ceremony in partnership with Toyota on Thursday night, as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo. [But] “We can’t take anyone for granted.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing. I know it’s a big thing, but I’m still trying to recover from that India series. It was amazing to be a part of: playing 25 days out of 25 was huge. That was the most intense series I’ve ever been a part of. If the Ashes tops that, I’ll be very happy.”
I don’t have much experience of the pitches there – Harry Brook
Harry Brook has never played a Test match on Australian soil and is likely to pose a big challenge for him on the upcoming tour. Overall, he had just played the BBL in Australia at the age of 22 and scored 56 runs in five innings.
Meanwhile, Brook further admitted that he does not know much about the Australian conditions and said that he is coming in with a clear mind. Harry Brooke said:
“It’s obviously intense. If I’m honest I don’t remember much about the 2023 Ashes. It’s a similar group of players that we will be up against: a very strong bowling attack and on home soil they will present different challenges. I don’t have a lot of experience of the pitches there, so I have to be in the moment as much as possible and play with what’s in front of me.”
“If I’m honest I look at white ball and red ball as completely different games. I’m going in there with a clear mind.”
I want to be a match winner – Harry Brook
Harry Brook, who recently won Player of the Series for England in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, said he wants to become a proper match-winner. He said:
“It’s not something I really think about. I want to be a match-winner. If the team is in a little bit of trouble, I want to get us out of it, which I’ve done pretty well so far in my career. If scoring 75 is going to take us out of trouble for a while and put the team in a better position, I’d rather score a century than lose the game.”
The young batsman also said that he is honored to be given the Test vice-captaincy and is hopeful that Ben Stokes will play all five Ashes Tests. He said:
“If I’m being honest, I see Stokes playing all five Tests. I think he will show his strength, even if he has a little trouble.”
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