Harry Brook looking to trust his instincts as captain in his debut as skipper in the 5-match series vs Australia.
Harry Brook career has progressed so calmly that following a series victory, he was questioned about it. Although Brook’s approach was questioned during Sri Lanka’s recent victory at The Oval, he admits that he is attempting to avoid becoming paralysed by overanalysis as he gets ready to skipper England for the first time at Trent Bridge on Thursday.
After making between 32 and 56 in his opening four innings of the series against Sri Lanka, Brook finished with 19 and 3 in the last Test of the English season. His demeanour at the crease garnered the most attention, even though the scores weren’t particularly impressive.
For England, Brook has had a demanding season. He was the only player to play in all six of their home Test matches as well as the T20 World Cup in June. Only three days after the fifth and final ODI of the Australia series, he will take off for Pakistan for October’s Test visit. He captained the Northern Superchargers in the Hundred during the three weeks that separated the West Indies and Sri Lanka series.
On the eve of his Trent Bridge debut as England captain, Brook appeared uncharacteristically at ease. He smiled during his pre-match news conference and dismissed the notion that he had ever felt a need for leadership. Although he acknowledged that his Test summer had not gone as planned, he downplayed the idea that a tough season had left him mentally exhausted.
“Because I wasn’t scoring the runs I wanted to, I probably was [feeling] a little bit [tired],” Brook said. “But if I’d have gone out and got two hundreds against Sri Lanka then I’d have been like, ‘I’ll just carry on’. But no, not really. I love playing cricket: I want to play as much as I possibly can. I do think breaks are important at certain times, but I was pretty chilled.
“Obviously I didn’t do as well as I’d wanted. I want to get a hundred every innings, but it’s not going to happen, is it? Professional sport is not easy… I felt like I batted really well against West Indies and then didn’t play as well as I wanted to against Sri Lanka, but those things happen. You go away and think about it for a little bit, and hopefully come back stronger in Pakistan.”
Jos Buttler is still recovering from a calf injury and will rejoin the team for their November Caribbean tour; Brook is merely filling in as captain for Buttler. Buttler was with the team on Wednesday. “I might pick his brains here and there,” Brook said, “but he’s said I’ve got full rein to do whatever I want.”