There is a compelling argument to suggest that any fifty against this Australian attack is a good fifty.
But Harry Brook did his level best at Lord’s to disprove it. And the sheer ugliness of his dismissal was a horribly luminous symbol of England’s painful shortcomings with the bat.
Yes, this is the same Brook who averages over 72 after 16 Test innings. Yes, this is the same Brook who needs only 54 to reach 1,000 Test runs after only nine matches. Yes, this is the same Brook who made more runs in his first nine Test innings than any other player in history.
And yes, this is the same Brook who said the following about Australia’s pacemen ahead of this Ashes series: “If they bowl quicker, they tend to go to the boundary quicker.”
Or hit Brook on the head, as one from Pat Cummins did on Friday morning. Or hit him nastily on the hand, as one from Mitchell Starc did. Or reduce him to such a state of discomfort that his half-hit slap of a Starc half-tracker into Cummins’ hands almost became an inevitability.
“England clearly like losing,” said Michael Vaughan. “Seeing a player play a shot like that - it’s just not good enough.”
Damning stuff.
Brook’s gilded start to his Test career cuts him plenty of slack and his scores of 32, 46 and 50 in his three Ashes knocks to date hardly make for nightmarish figures. But during his 68-ball half century - in which he was dropped by Marnus Labuschagne - there was plenty of evidence to suggest the Australians believe their pace can unnerve the 24-year-old Yorkshireman.
While the surface for the first Test at Edgbaston was fairly lifeless, there is a little bit of spite in this Lord’s pitch, especially when Starc and co are digging them in at 88mph. They bowled short to most Englishmen but it was clear they had specifically targeted Brook. Of the 55 balls delivered by quick bowlers, 83 percent were short-pitched. It was bodyline to Brook.
To begin with, it was intriguing fun to watch him back away to square leg and try to scythe the short ball either through the off side or straightish. But it was clear before lunch that Australian hostility was causing Brook some trouble - just as it caused a lot of English batters trouble.
Ben Stokes is clearly out of nick and while Jonny Bairstow’s chip to mid-on was not as ugly as Brook’s shot, it was equally soft. The debate about Bazball will continue but the fact is that so many shots chosen by English batsmen were just poorly executed. Simple as that.
And, in some cases, their egos got the better of them. Ahead of play on the second day, Ben Duckett - out hooking for 98 on Thursday - hinted it would have been a sign of weakness had they not taken on the bouncer challenge posed by the Aussies.
But it was possibly a sign of psychological weakness - as well as technical weakness - that Brook tried to flat-bat his way out of obvious trouble. And it has always been an Australian speciality to ruthlessly exploit any sign of psychological weakness.
Never mind his average in the seventies, never his four centuries and four half-centuries in nine Tests, you suspect Brook is in for a torrid time over the next four weeks. Kevin Pietersen, on TV duty, certainly thinks so.
“I don’t think Harry Brook has shown anybody that he plays the short ball well,” said Pietersen. “So, unfortunately for him, the next three Test matches are not going to be fun.”
And you suspect KP is right.
