England’s white-ball skipper Harry Brook has encouraged his side to keep moving forward despite a demanding schedule, after suffering a second consecutive ODI loss to South Africa in the three-match series. Following the close defeat at Lord’s, Brook dismissed calls to give senior Test players a break, stressing the importance of fielding a full-strength team ahead of the crucial Ashes in November.
England have been constantly switching between formats, with players like Brook, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, and Jamie Smith moving directly from a five-match Test series against India into The Hundred, before rejoining international duty. Brook insisted that the strongest eleven should feature in every white-ball fixture.
“I’m not selecting the Ashes side, that’s up to Stokesy and Baz. We want to try and play our strongest side in every white-ball game. We’ve got World Cups coming up-the T20 World Cup this winter and the one-day World Cup the following winter,” he said.
While acknowledging the demanding nature of the schedule, Harry Brook refused to attribute England’s recent dip in form to tiredness. “It’s easy to say we’re fatigued, but to me that’s just an excuse. We’re skilled and fit enough to keep going for now,” he said.
England Show Fight In Lord’s Thriller But South Africa Clinch Series With 2-0 Lead
England’s batting showed marked improvement in the second ODI after their disastrous opening match at Headingley, where they were bundled out for 131 before South Africa sealed victory by seven wickets inside 21 overs. England fell just five runs short in a 331 chase at Lord’s, as South Africa sealed the series 2-0. Brook felt they nearly pulled off something special.
“We felt they (South Africa) were 10 or 15 above par, so it was a very good effort for us to get within one blow of their score,” he commented.
England’s prospects were hampered by the expensive overs bowled by part-time spinners Jacob Bethell and Will Jacks, who gave away 112 runs in just 10 overs. Brook acknowledged that he had miscalculated tactically during the game.
“I probably got it wrong on one occasion when I bowled Jacksy from the Pavilion End to the right-handers hitting it down the hill. It was a gamble, and the gamble didn’t pay off,” he explained.
South Africa registered just their second-ever ODI series victory on English soil, with the previous one dating back to 1998. The visitors will now look to seal a 3-0 whitewash when they face England in the third ODI at Southampton on Sunday, September 7.
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