Brook is advised to "be cautious" by Michael Vaughan as a loose display sets the scene for England's collapse.
Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka's time head coach, said that his team's achievements in frustrating Harry Brook had been essential to their drubbing on the next day at the Kia Oval, as they reached the tight on 211 for 5 in their first pitches, trailing by simply 114 after bowling England out for 325 in the morning program.
England had seemed to be in a sharing prominent position immediately, having raced to 221 for 3 in scarcely half a day's play on day one, but they finally lost their past seven wickets for 104 more runs in 24.1 overs on day two, with all ten wickets inevitably falling to attacking shots.
Brook, 8 certainly out over, was particularly criminal for setting the tone for a careless bowling performance. After firing a crazy drive at Lahiru Kumara, he was given the ball of the day, and despite properly overturning the caught-behind verdict, Asitha Fernando hard dropped him at deep point on 12 after charging Milan Rathnayake.
And as Sri Lanka began to move in the cloudy conditions, he mockedly took guard two feet off the stump to draw attention to the stringent line that Asitha was bowling in particular.
His fiery be ultimately ended on 19 from 39 balls, when he flashed another drive to Kamindu Mendis at small cover, to cause a collapse of 7 for 64 in which only Ollie Pope, seventh out for 154, emerged with any credit among England's batters.
" He was frustrated, yes, because we bowled well, with the right line and length", Jayasuriya said at the close. " We go through each and every batsmen, like they go through our batsmen. We know their very strong areas, and where we can keep them tight and frustrated.
" They love to play their shots. So we just thought of bowling a more tight line and length just outside your off stump. When you keep doing that in these conditions, when the ball is moving, it's not very easy."
England's unfocused performance attracted the ire of Michael Vaughan on the BBC, who warned the team at large that sterner challenges lie in store for the team, particularly when they take on India and Australia in five-Test series next year. He singled out Brook for particular criticism, given the extraordinary strides he's already made in his career, particularly in his breakthrough winter of 2023-24, when he racked up 809 runs in nine innings, at a strike-rate of 98.77.
" England are ultra-aggressive," Vaughan said". They go towards the danger. If the ball is swinging away they are not thinking about leaving it. That is their method.
" Just be careful, Harry Brook. That is all I will say to him. He is a brilliant player. He is as good as I can tell. I am going towards Kevin Pietersen-style. He is an incredible player. But do n't take the mick out of the game. Be very, very careful.
" There are cricketing gods up there and in a year's time there are tougher challenges. When you do n't act as you should, you might be getting the rub of the green, but when you play against the best teams in the world, you will need some luck, a toss to go the right way, and the DRS to put your skills to use.
" I would ask England, were you on it all day like you would be against India and Australia? I would assume they are lying if they look themselves in the mirror and claim to be. They were n't on it today.
" England delight me a lot in the way they play. However, you can bite yourself in this game. When you are so far ahead of the opposition, do n't take the mick. Do n't think you can do things no other player has done in the history of the game- dance down the wicket and whack an away-swinger over mid-off."
Jayasuriya himself was one of the great attacking batters in Test history- as shown on this ground in 1998, when his brilliant 213 from 278 balls set Sri Lanka on their way to their most famous Test victory. After watching Brook struggle to control his tempo, he offered his own counsel at the conclusion.
" Sometimes you go to the top gear, and sometimes you have to put the gear back, and you slow it down a bit, "he said". When playing this kind of cricket, you ca n't always go in top gear.
" You play your natural game, but you need to take the less risk as much as possible, when the field is back on the off side, or the leg side. You must wage a fierce battle. This is therefore a game requirement. You need to work hard, and mentally you need to be strong".
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