Harry Brook is prepared to “rein it in” in this week’s third Ashes Test, admitting he has been guilty of “shocking” errors since arriving in Australia.
Brook has failed to fire in the series so far, managing just 98 runs in four innings and gifting his wicket with some poorly judged attacking strokes.
The 26-year-old started the trip as the number two batter in the ICC world rankings, but has dropped two places in as many games and needs to carry more of the weight if England are to keep their campaign alive in Adelaide.
Brook, who was promoted to vice-captain ahead of the tour, accepts he has made mistakes and has signalled an intent to be more selective.
“Sometimes I’ve got to rein it in a little bit, learn to absorb the pressure a bit more,” he said.
“I need to realise when the opportunity arises to put the pressure back on them. I feel like I haven’t done that as well as I usually do. There’s no reason behind that, I just haven’t identified those situations well enough.
“It hasn’t been an ideal series but things like that happen and hopefully I can bounce back better and perform this week.”
Brook started out with a flashy half-century but was dismissed for a duck driving on the up in his second innings and swung wildly at danger man Mitchell Starc at a key moment in the second Test at the Gabba.
In both instances, he takes full responsibility.
“I’ll be the first person to stand up and say that they were bad shots. Shocking shots,” he said.
“I’ll admit that every day of the week, especially that one in Perth. It was nearly a bouncer and I tried to drive it. It was just bad batting. The one in Brisbane, I’ve tried to hit for six.
“That’s what I mean when I try to say that I need to rein it in a little bit. I can almost just take that and hit it for one to get down the other end. I don’t regret them but if I was there again, I would try and play it slightly differently.
“I’ll be thinking about my game and the risks and the options I have before I go out there.”
