by Harry Brook admitted that he was working against the spin in the T20, but he thinks that the “smog” of Calcutta was partly responsible for the dull performance of England in the stick during a heavy defeat against India.
England continues to fight against the ball that runs in Asia, with the excellent Indian trio made up of Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi and Axar Patel combining for figures of 12-1-67-5 Wednesday.
Brook seemed unable to align the mysterious turn of Chakaravarthy and was roqué via a bat and a pad, but he feels that the misty conditions at Eden Gardens complicate things and hopes better visibility to Chennai.
“Chakaravarthy is an exceptionally good quest,” said Brook. “But with the SMOG in the other evening, it was much more difficult to choose. Hopefully the air is a little clearer here and that we can see the ball a little more easily.
Brook, however, was generally factual on his desire to improve his own game while England seeks to bounce back after his defeat of seven counters during the second T20 on Saturday at the my Chidambaram stadium.
Winner of the T20 World Cup in 2022, Brook briefly dominated the classification of test strikers last month and was the first triple centurion of England since 1990 with a titanic 317 against Pakistan in Multan in October.
Although it has an astonishing average stick of 58.48 in this format- which places it in the top 10 of all time- the Yorkshireman admits that it still has something to prove against the spin in the sub-sub continent.
“To face the effects of the T20 cricket is probably the most difficult thing in the game, especially because I always go out by trying to strike them absolutely,” he said. “Maybe I have to hold back a little, but we will see.
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1st T20, Calcutta, January 22 – India won by seven counters
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2nd T20, Chennai, January 25
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3rd T20, Rajkot, January 28
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4th T20, Pune, January 31
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5th T20, Mumbai, February 2
“I think I have a method. It is simply a question of trying to do it in a coherent manner and more often. I arrive in the intermediate order, so the first bullets I face are generally out of rotation.
“If I go out early, it is generally against a spinner, so maybe my statistics are not as good against the spin, but there will always be criticisms in certain parts.”
Brook took over on Chakravarthy in a first season otherwise forgettable from the Indian Premier League in 2023 with a superb hundred undeveloped for Sunrisers Hyderabad against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
“I was going to watch it when I arrived (at the training session on Friday) but my phone did not work, so I will take a look a little later,” said Brook.
Brook demonstrated his leadership qualities last year, inspiring the return of England from 2-0 against Australia at 2-2 before losing the ODI 3-2 series after replaced Jos Buttler, injured.
It is not surprising that Brook was appointed permanent assistant to the White Ballon of Buttler, revealing that he was informed by an impromptu text of the head coach Brendon McCullum.
“We were sitting at the bar the other evening and Baz sent me a text on the other side of the room,” added Brook. “He just said ‘Congratulations, you are the vice-captain’ and I just put ‘beautiful, thank you’. There was not really much conversation.
“I think there is always a responsibility, whether you are vice-captain or that you simply play in the XI. I would feel exactly the same thing as if I was not vice-captain.
“Jos is extremely experienced, I will make him some suggestions here and there and if he comes to me, I will give him my opinion but it is up to him to take it or not.”
Gus Atkinson was removed from the shooting line after his blows during the first T20 and will be replaced by Brydon Carse. England will make a late decision concerning Jacob Bethell, who missed training on Friday because he did not feel well, with Jamie Smith waiting behind the scenes to make his debut at the T20.
