He has often claimed to be oblivious to criticism throughout his England career. But perhaps it would have been for his own good if teammate Harry Brook’s passwords were changed before he returned to his Adelaide hotel room on Saturday night.
His dismissal after tea—bowled attempting a reverse sweep against off-spinner Nathan Lyon—was not pretty. It opened the door for Lyon, who spun out two more English batters, leaving the tourists 207-6 and teetering on the brink of an Ashes series defeat that has seemed inevitable for some time.
The online reaction to Brook’s shot was predictably brutal.
He has tested the patience of England fans in recent months. Fresh from that unforgettable dismissal in the fifth Test against India at The Oval—where his bat flew toward square leg and the ball landed safely in the hands of mid-off as England threw away a landmark win—he started this Ashes series in fifth gear, scooping and swiping his way to 52 in the first innings.
Since then, Brook has been central to several of England’s most frustrating collapses. In the second innings at Perth, he edged a reckless drive for a three-ball duck shortly after Ollie Pope fell in similar fashion. Under the lights in Brisbane, his swish at Mitchell Starc may have been the worst of the lot.
At 26, he’s taken plenty of heat on this tour—though in that, he’s not alone.
Much of the frustration stems from just how good Brook can be. Pope plays poor shots. Crawley does, too. But neither averages 55.05 in Test cricket. Brook began his career with numbers that rival the all-time greats, and with them came expectation. Add to that his recent appointments as Test vice-captain and white-ball skipper, and the margin for recklessness seems to shrink.
After four days in Noosa, Brook spoke frankly at the start of the week in Adelaide, admitting his recent returns have been below par and describing some of his earlier dismissals as “shocking shots.”
“Sometimes I’ve got to rein it in a little bit, learn to absorb the pressure a bit more,” he said. “I need to 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.”
To his credit, he showed more restraint in the first innings here, easing to 45 before nicking a good ball from Cameron Green. It wasn’t enough—England needed someone to go as big as Travis Head—but it was a step toward the discipline required.
Then came the reverse sweep. And with it, the familiar cycle of hope and exasperation continues.
By James Kisoo
