Harry Brook has said there is a “fine line between reckless and aggressive” as he admitted that his Ashes batting performances have, at times, fallen on the wrong side of it.
After a breakout winter, Brook is having a fine debut Ashes series with 271 runs in seven innings at an average of 39. However, the 24-year-old met with the first significant criticism of his short international career following the Second Test defeat at Lord’s, when his dismissal for a chancy 50 was part of England’s first-innings collapse against the short-ball that ultimately proved costly.
Taking on the ploy, Brook led a charmed life on the second evening when he was given a reprieve by Marnus Labuschagne’s drop, but failed to curb his approach overnight and succumbed to Mitchell Starc in frustrating fashion the following morning.
Brook admitted he has slightly reined in his aggression to good effect since, making a vital 75 in the successful Third Test chase at Headingley and then another half-century in Manchester last week.
“I feel like I was too reckless at Lord’s,” Brook said. “There’s a fine line between being aggressive and reckless. So it’s just trying to find that balance.
“I am learning every day, there are so many things I have learnt this series, to have played against some of best bowlers in world. I haven’t got a big score there but feel I have contributed in a few games now. I just know I am at my best when I am playing positive and not just looking to survive.”
Brook was promoted to No3 following the defeat at Lord’s, during which vice-captain Ollie Pope suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. The experiment lasted only one innings, however, before the Yorkshireman was returned to his favourite slot at No5 as Moeen Ali stepped up to fill the void.
The switch worked particularly well at Old Trafford, where Moeen’s half-century helped set the platform for England’s middle-order to take the game away from Australia and while the weekend’s downpour denied them a series-levelling victory, Brook remains thankful for the spinner’s sacrifice.
“I’ll probably be lying if I [said I] wasn’t,” Brook said. “But I was. I’m happy to just be in the XI to be honest. Whether that’s batting at three or five, I’m happy to just be playing Test cricket. I feel like I’ve probably done better at five because I haven’t batted at three much.
“He took it upon himself to go up there and it could have been the match-winning decision.”
Brook says he will make himself available for Northern Superchargers’ first Hundred game next week, only three days after the scheduled end of the Fifth Test, and is then set for a busy autumn with England back in white-ball action throughout September before heading to India to begin their 50-over World Cup defence.
The batter has already won the T20 equivalent but such has been his rapid rise that, at present, Brook is only on an incremental ECB contract, worth around £60,000-a-year plus match fees.
The ECB are planning a revamp of the central contract system in a bid to ward off the growing threat of T20 franchises signing players to more lucrative extended deals. Earlier this month, it was reported that Brook could be among the first to be offered a multi-year deal when the new round of contracts - which usually last just 12 months - are announced in October.
“That was news to me the other day,” Brook said, before confirming that he would be willing to sign up even if it meant limiting his franchise opportunities beyond the Indian Premier League, which takes place in a window free of international cricket.
“I want to play cricket for England. I’m not bothered about all the franchise stuff. Obviously it’s a bonus but I’m completely focused on playing cricket for England.
“If I’m in all three formats for England, I don’t really feel like there’s too much time to be playing any other franchise stuff, to be honest. The IPL is the only one that is really free, when you’re available for everything. There won’t be much thought there.”
