After his innings of 75 off 93 balls helped England’s successful run chase on the fourth day, Harry Brook referred to a three-wicket triumph over Australia at his home stadium Headingley as his best Test win for England.
In the second innings of England’s match, Harry Brook, who had played at No. 3 in the first innings to fill in for the injured Ollie Pope, moved back to No. 5, where he usually bats. When he left the field, they still had seven wickets to take, but they needed 158 runs to win. Joe Root, Ben Stokes, and Jonny Bairstow had all left the field either side of lunch, leaving him as the lone specialist batsman.
Together with Chris Woakes,y in 67 balHarry, Brook added 59 runs in 73 balls to reach his half-centuries while fending off a barrage of short balls from Australian seamers. After falling to a bumper and top-edging Mitchell Starc to cover, he eventually did it. He then anxiously watched from the dressing room as Mark Wood and Woakes helped England cross the finish line.
While avoiding a bombardment of short balls from Australian seamers, Harry Brook and Chris Woakes contributed 59 runs in 73 balls for the partnership to help Harry Brook achieve his half-century in 67 balls. He eventually succeeded after tumbling to a bumper and top-edging Mitchell Starc to cover. Then, as Mark Wood and Woakes assisted England in crossing the finish line, he anxiously watched from the dressing room.
According to him, sitting up top is much more nerve-wracking than sitting in the middle. “Normally, when I enter the changing room, I don’t have a big meltdown, but today I did. I enjoy leading us to victory, so it was disappointing that I didn’t tonight, but I’m glad we prevailed.
“Everyone erupted in the dressing room. I had complete and utter faith in Woakesy and Woody, and we just needed to score roughly 20 runs. After a brief period of tension, we kind of knew it was game on when Woody hit that six.
I’m glad we won, but I wish I had today.
“Everyone in the dressing room burst into tears. I had total and utter confidence in Woakesy and Woody and knew we only needed around 20 runs. For a while, it was tight, but when Woody hit that six, we sort of knew it was game on.
“I and Woakesy were just trying to develop a partnership there, just trying to go down in fives; we got it down to 40 and said, “Let’s try and get it down to 35,” then “Let’s try and get it down to 30,” he continued. Naturally, after that I left, which added a little amount of anxiety.
“[Woakes] has played brilliantly for England. He hasn’t played as much recently, of course, but it’s great to have him back in the lineup and playing such an important role.
Harry Brook said that Pat Cummins’ dismissal inspired him to recommit to his aggressive instincts in the second innings after he played hesitantly in the first innings and edged him to second slip for three. “In the last couple of innings, I feel like I’ve gotten out being stuck on the crease a little bit,” he added. “I believe that when I’m trying to score and exert pressure on the bowler, I perform at my best.
“Today, I tried to be a little more forceful. To be honest, I’d rather get caught at second slip playing a huge drive because I hate it when I nick off when I get stuck on the crease, but I’m delighted I got a few.
Moeen Ali, who contacted Brendon McCullum and requested a promotion on the third evening, is to blame for his return to No. 5. “He came up to Brendon and said, ‘I want to have a crack at No. 3 and take these guys on,'” Ben Stokes remarked. “I loved that, in the pressure of a chase, he wanted to go out and deliver for the team,” the player said. “It wasn’t necessarily a free hit for us.”
Harry Brook acknowledged that he enjoyed the change, but Stokes made it seem unlikely that it would be a long-term fix. Whether it was with England or Yorkshire, he remarked, “I’ve batted No. 5 for the last four or five years of my career, so I probably feel most comfortable there.” But I’m content to simply be in the XI.
Although Harry Brook has been a member of Yorkshire since the Under-13 level and has spent many years building a successful record there, this was his first international game of any kind played at his home field. To be honest, he claimed it was the finest part in an interview with Sky Sports.
“I’ll know a lot of people in that crowd, and doing it in front of the home crowd is nice,” the speaker said. Whether it’s a T20 Blast game or an England Test match, it’s always [loud]. They’re consistently good here. But every single SMS begging for a ticket is the worst part of being a professional cricketer.
