- There has been some recent concern about Brook’s batting after a sensational run of form.
- He’s a generational talent, but he’s starting to sell himself cheap as a player.
- England need him to get back to his best if they are to reclaim the Ashes in Australia.
Harry Brook had reached 12 on the second morning of the third Test when he waddled down the track to Milan Rathnayake, cut hard and high towards deep point and watched helplessly as Asitha Fernando lined up for the catch.
When Fernando dropped the ball, the Oval settled into the expectation of seeing Brook make Sri Lanka pay. Even Sri Lankans might have feared the worst. But there has been a restlessness in their batting in this series and that is frustrating spectators as much as it should frustrate Brook.
There is no doubt about his ability. He is a generational talent, perhaps more gifted than Joe Root. Just two years into his Test career, he is ranked fifth in the rankings, ahead of Virat Kohli.
And yet, seven runs after his reprieve, Brook attempted to hit a field goal off Rathnayake through the covers and only managed to find Kamindu Mendis. The shot was perfectly executed but ill-conceived and set the tone for a sloppy morning in which England batted not like a team trying to secure their first perfect Test summer in 20 years but as if they were resting on the final day of the season.
To be fair, Brook still boasts a Test average of 55 (England’s highest since Ken Barrington in the late 1960s) and a strike rate of 87. These are ridiculous figures and underline why he should not be sold cheaply. However, his scores in this series have left fans wanting more: 56, 32, 33, 37 and now 19.
Harry Brook has been batting tirelessly of late and played his part in a sloppy morning.
He’s a generational talent, but he’s been selling himself short lately with his hitting displays.
His scores in this series have left fans wanting more: 56, 32, 33, 37 and now 19: he’s better than that.
On one or two occasions, he could not do much. In the first innings at Old Trafford, he was bowled by a beautiful delivery from left-handed bowler Prabath Jayasuriya. In the first at Lord’s, he was pinned by a clever nip-backer from Fernando, the leading wicket-taker in the series.
But he was caught at mid-wicket in the second innings of that game and came out to bat on the first afternoon here at the Oval as if he were determined to reach a century at the stumps. He missed a wild swing off his second ball and was lucky to leave with his wicket intact.
England manager Brendon McCullum used his pre-match press conference to explain a comment he had made after the tour of India. The “refinement” he had called for was not so much a plea for restraint as a plea for England to make better use of the moment.
And when they resumed action on Saturday at 221 for three, a scoreline that should have demoralised Sri Lanka after they had put England in favourable conditions, the moment was there to be seized. Instead, Brook sought fresh air.
Brook is not doing himself justice, and England will need him to be better when they move on to the Ashes in 15 months.
Kevin Pietersen used to be criticised for protesting after a hasty dismissal, saying “that was the way I played”, but Brook has not built his reputation on the recklessness he showed here.
Brook has often been bold and occasionally outrageous. The three centuries he made in Pakistan in late 2022 were the result of accurate, clean hitting, while his 186 off 176 balls in Wellington in early 2023 remains one of the most brilliant performances of the Bazball era.
But Brook is failing to do himself justice at the moment and England will need him and Root to be at their best if they are to have any chance of regaining the urn in 15 months’ time.
Cameos are fun, but they won’t win the Ashes.