London [UK], July 13 : Former India head coach Ravi Shastri and ex-England pace spearhead Stuart Broad criticised the way Harry Brook gave away his wicket with a "nothing shot" during the fourth day of the third Test at the 'Home of Cricket', Lord's, on Sunday.
Indian quicks ran rampant and brought thunder down the ground in the opening session. With England stuck in turmoil while reeling at 50/3, Joe Root and Harry Brook's presence at the crease offered solace to the hosts. With England three wickets down, Brook adopted a fearless 'Bazball' attitude while Root stuck to the basics.
Brook's high-risk approach was a double-edged sword, and it eventually became a source of England's agony. After pulling off two sublime scoops, he premeditatedly attempted to sweep Akash Deep, a shot that seemed doomed from the beginning. The pitched up delivery, slanted in the right-handed batter and rattled into the timber, forcing Brook to return on 23(19), moments before lunch.
Shastri struggled to digest "destructive" Brook's thought process, which involved taking a risky shot that would have likely brought him one run. The 26-year-old's gamble came back to haunt him as a promising partnership ended on 37 runs.
"Brook can be destructive - the impact he wanted to make with those two reverse sweeps, he did that. But I think he is too good a player to put his wicket at risk at that stage of the game. It was a nothing shot. He was only going to get one run even if he connected. The risk element was huge," Shastri said on Sky Sports.
Broad underscored Brook's plan of creating a panic in the Indian camp and putting his team in a position of victory, which eventually didn't pay off and said, "His mindset is 'if I can go and get 60 or 70 off however many balls on this surface, I can create a bit of panic and put my team in a winning position'. There were two brilliantly executed scoops."
"He then got the field change he wanted, but it was a clever field change, moving fine leg finer. He had almost got India were he needed them to be. Now settle in and play. Make them bowl you a good ball. That is how I feel," he added.
England tried to force their way back into the game with Root and captain Ben Stokes rebuilding England's innings with hopes of setting a fighting total against India.