Harry Brook's aggressive approach backfired at Lord's, drawing criticism from Kumar Sangakkara, who called his shot 'arrogance' rather than 'Bazball.' Sangakkara questioned Brook's temperament under pressure after his careless dismissal on Day 4.
England middle-order batter Harry Brook was called out by former Sri Lanka captain turned commentator Kumar Sangakkara over his dismissal on Day 4 of the ongoing third Test at Lord’s in London on Sunday, July 13.
England were left reeling at 50/3 after Zak Crawley’s dismissal, and Harry Brook joined Joe Root at the crease to carry on the hosts’ innings. The tempers of the match have been flared following a heated exchange on Day 3 between Shubman Gill and Zak Crawley, and a fiery send-off by Mohammed Siraj to Ben Duckett on Day 4 of the Lord’s Test.
The Indian pacers were relentless with their precision and aggression to put England under pressure as they assumed their second innings batting without a lead. The visitors were fired up at the start of Day 4 and kept attacking with discipline to rattle the English top-order.
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Harry Brook avenged by Akash Deep
Harry Brook resorted to an ultra-aggressive approach as the England batter was looking to rescue the hosts from a shambolic situation, alongside Joe Root. In the 20th over of England’s second innings batting, Brook took on Akash Deep by smashing him for 14 runs, including two fours and a six, to accelerate the hosts’ innings after a quick fall of wickets.
Brook’s stay at the crease would be dangerous for Team India as he began to find his rhythm and looked intent on counter-attacking. However, Akash had his revenge on the England batter for the earlier onslaught in his next over of the spell. On the first delivery of the 22nd over, Harry Brook was looking to go for a sweep shot off the Indian pacer’s up-pitch delivery.
As Brook bent across to sweep, the ball sneaked through his legs and crashed the middle stump. Akash Deep’s aggressive celebration says it all as he was smashed in the previous over.
This was another big breakthrough for India after the wickets of Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, and Zak Crawley, as Brook’s dismissal halted England’s counter-attack following an early collapse triggered by attacking Indian bowlers.
In the first innings, Harry Brook was dismissed for 11 by Jasprit Bumrah. After a century in the first innings of the Edgbaston Test, Brook scores read 11, 23, and 23 in the last three innings, raising questions over his shot selection and temperament under pressure.
‘Not even Bazball, it's just arrogance’
Following Harry Brook’s careless dismissal, Kumar Sangakkara did not mince his words to call out the England batter for his shot selection, stating that it was ‘arrogance’ rather than ‘Bazball’, a term used for England’s ultra-aggressive approach in Test cricket.
“Brook has scooped, and they've given him a gap, so flick it,” the former Sri Lanka batting legend said on air.
“I think it's a bit of arrogance, not even overconfidence, it's not even Bazball, it's just arrogance. You're counter-attacking and that is a big, big mistake,” he added.
Harry Brook has been in decent form in the ongoing Test series against India, amassing 314 runs, including a fifty and a century, at an average of 52.33 in six innings.
Meanwhile, at the end of the first session, England posted a total of 98/4 after 25 overs, with Joe Root and skipper Ben Stokes batting on 17 and 2, respectively.
