Harry Brook has promised to ‘rein it in a bit’ ahead of Wednesday’s crucial third Test in Adelaide as England look for a way back into the Ashes.
The tourists have made only one change to the side that lost by eight wickets in Brisbane, bringing in Josh Tongue for his first game of the series in place of Gus Atkinson. But Brook’s self-reflection after some poor dismissal in the first two Tests hints at a broader change of attitude, with England needing to win the last three games to regain the urn.
‘It hasn’t been an ideal series, but things like that happen,’ he said. ‘Hopefully I can bounce back better and perform this week.
‘Sometimes I’ve got to rein it in a bit, learn when to absorb the pressure a little more and realise when the opportunity arises to put the pressure back on them. I feel like I haven’t done that as well as I usually do. There’s no reason behind that: I just haven’t identified those situations well enough.’
England’s vice-captain began the series with a stroke-filled 52 at Perth, before falling for nought, 31 and 15, with his shots in the second innings of the first Test, and the first of the second, attracting particular attention because he was caught in the slips driving on the up.
‘They were shocking shots,’ he said. ‘I’ll admit that every day of the week, especially that one in Perth: it was nearly a bouncer, and I tried to drive it. It was just bad batting.
Harry Brook has addressed his ‘shocking’ dismissals in this year’s Ashes series
The England vice captain has vowed to ‘rein it in a bit’ after attracting criticism
‘The one in Brisbane, I’ve tried to hit for six. That’s what I mean when I try to say that I need to rein it in a little bit. I can almost just take that and hit it for one and get down the other end. Whoever else is in with me at the other end can just get on strike and just keep trying to rotate.
‘But I’ll be the first person to stand up and say that they were bad shots. I don’t regret them, but if I was there again, I would try and play it slightly differently.’
But Brook also admitted that the accuracy of the Australian seam attack, which will be boosted this week by the return from injury of captain Pat Cummins, occasionally means risks need to be taken.
‘They’ve been incredibly highly skilled and they’ve nailed their execution,’ he said. ‘You can’t take this bowling attack lightly. They very rarely miss.
‘You’ve got to try and create your own bad balls. Doing that might be me running down, or changing my guard or whatever. Look, they don’t miss often and you’ve got to tip your hat to them sometimes. They’ve bowled really well in this series.’
Brook’s 32-Test career has brought him 10 centuries and an average of 55, but he yet to reach three figures and finish on the winning side in a game against either Australia or India, and he says he is in the mood to play an important hand in Adelaide.
England captain Ben Stokes (left) needs Brook to deliver if the tourists are to win in Adelaide
‘I’ve been thinking of that over the last few days,’ he said. ‘Other lads will have been as well. These are the moments you want to be the man who turns up and puts them in a tough position. Hopefully I can stick to my processes, stay in the moment as much as possible, and what will be will be.’
Brook began his press conference with a tribute to those who died in the Bondi Beach attack on Sunday evening.
‘It was a horrendous day for everybody involved on Bondi Beach,’ he said. ‘All of my condolences, and those of everyone involved with England cricket – we are really thinking about them and the horrific incidents that happened. We support them all the way through and we’re just extremely sorry for what happened.’
England team for third Test against Australia at Adelaide: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wkt), 8 Will Jacks, 9 Brydon Carse, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Josh Tongue.