Harry Brook hoping for improved England performance despite quick turnaround
Brook’s side were swept aside in their ODI opener at Perth’s Optus Stadium.
England captain Harry Brook is hoping his side can bounce back quickly from a losing start to their Australian tour, but do not even have time to hit the nets before taking the field again in Adelaide.
Brook’s side were swept aside in their ODI opener at Perth’s Optus Stadium, knocked over for 131 before succumbing to a thumping seven-wicket defeat.
Undone by the unique sharp bounce of Western Australia they now face a different proposition as they head south, but with a two-and-a-half hour evening flight to factor in they will not get a chance to work on things ahead of a must-win second match.
But with England keen to ready themselves for next year’s World Cup campaign in South Africa, Brook is not shying away from a tight schedule.
“Cricket, and especially white-ball cricket, comes so thick and fast and you’ve got to be able to and be prepared to move on very quickly,” he said.
“We’ve got to adapt conditions as quick as possible. We’re not going to have a training session, we’ve got a flight and then we’re pretty much straight into the game.
“But that replicates what the World Cup’s going to show us and there’s going to be some great lessons for us going from this sort of surface in Perth to Adelaide where it’s going to be slightly lower and probably not as quick.
“It’s a good opportunity for us to learn some lessons and work towards that World Cup. I won’t dwell on (the loss) too much. You’ve got to learn and you learn a lot from defeats, probably more than you do from your victories.”
England’s bowling attack barely stood a chance of defending such a slender total on Friday, meaning the decision to once again omit Adil Rashid slipped under the radar.
The leg-spinner is the second highest wicket-taker for England in 50-over cricket behind Sir James Anderson and has been a guaranteed pick for a dozen years. Now, at the age of 38, he finds himself battling for his spot.
He made a single appearance in the recent tri-series in Pakistan, with left-armer Liam Dawson preferred in what was explained as a horses-for-courses selection, and was overlooked again in Perth.
Brook, who called the Yorkshireman a “magician” on the eve of the game, credited that call to the pace of the pitch but will soon find himself running out of reasons if Rashid continues to miss out on a more helpful Adelaide track.
“We knew that the surface was going to be seam friendly and spin wasn’t going to play a massive part, hence why we went with Daws, who is probably a better batter than Rash at the minute,” he said.
“Daws was exceptional in Pakistan and as we knew it was going to be seam dominant, that’s why we didn’t pick Rash.”