'I Have Just Got To Be...': Harry Brook Holds Firm As Patience Defeats Australia

Star England batter Harry Brook has said that he needs to be a bit patient to ensure that he can play long knocks and not give away his wicket after getting starts, adding that although his 78-run innings

on Day 1 of the Sydney Test didn’t feel amazing, on another day, it would.

Brook has become one of the world’s most exciting cricketers across all formats with his attacking batting.

But the gung-ho approach hasn’t worked well Down Under, with his unbeaten 78 in the fifth and final Test on Sunday, his highest score till now.

“I have just got to be a little bit more patient and take my ones here and there. Thankfully, I did that today. I did that in a couple of the other innings as well. That is something I have got to think about going forward and put that into my game,” Brook said at the end of the opening day’s play.

The star England batter’s knock was shaped more by absorption than flair, a clear departure from the boundary-heavy style that has characterised much of his rise in his formative years.

With Australia making a strong start, Brook adopted a more pragmatic approach. Arriving at 57/3, he kept the scoreboard moving at a healthy rate, scoring an unbeaten 78 off 92 deliveries while putting on an unbroken 154-run partnership with Joe Root.

“I look to try and be a little bit more patient at times. Like I said a couple of weeks ago, absorb the pressure. Whether that is taking my ones instead of trying to hit boundaries, then so be it,” Brook said.

“It has obviously worked this series because I have not scored as many runs as I would have liked,” Brook added.

Australia’s bowlers once again reverted to a familiar plan against him, applying sustained pressure with probing lines, as Mitchell Starc, Michael Neser and Scott Boland tested him after the lunch break.