Former England captain Michael Vaughan has expressed his thoughts on Harry Brook’s terrible shot to be dismissed at a crucial stage on Day 3 of the second Test at Lord’s as well. The youngster reached his fifty before hitting outside leg only to slap a short ball from Mitchell Starc straight to captain Pat Cummins at deep extra cover. Brook averages a stunning 72.76 in his nine Tests but he has scored just one fifty in three innings of the ongoing Ashes series as well.
Speaking to Cricbuzz at the end of Day 3, Vaughan said, “Harry Brook is a good player, when he stays still. Then he backs away to play this baseball style of shot. The problem with that is Harry Brook is too good to get out in that fashion. He is just thinking all the time about boundaries. Don’t allow one of your really good players ( Harry Brook) whose record in Tests is really good to get out in such a cheap way. Ride a few, get under a few bouncers. In Test match cricket you are allowed to see off a bowler considering a bowler can only do the tactic for 4-5 overs. I’ve never seen a sports team play one way and be successful.”
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However, England succumbed to Australia’s bouncer deliveries and eventually seized on Day 2 by getting bowled out for 325 in response to Australia’s first innings total of 416. Notably, they lost their final five wickets for only 57 runs in the first session on Day 3 as well.
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“When you get a chance to be expansive, go for it. But when you see a tactic so obvious and you are up against 90 m/hr bouncers, be smart enough to know that they can’t do that forever and they might have to pitch it up and then you go again. In Test cricket, can’t be in 5th gear all the time. Ultimately it comes down to did you win or did you lose and at the minute, they lost the first game and they are looking like losing the second unless they come out and play better in the second innings,” Michael Vaughan concluded.
