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Legendary England cricketer Geoffrey Boycott brutally slammed Harry Brook for his disappointing display with the bat in the ongoing Ashes series. The England vice-captain has come under a lot of scrutiny as of recent and has been criticised for throwing away his wicket by playing silly shots during important stages of the match. Brook recorded below average scores of 45 and 30 in the third Ashes Test and has managed to score a total of 173 runs in the six innings that he has played so far.
Boycott's assessment of Brook's batting
Boycott was highly critical of Brook's approach on the crease and remarked that even though he is quite a talented player, hefails to convert positive starts into big scores and gets dismissed after playing questionable shots. He further went on to claim that Brook has the potential to become the greatest batter of his generation, but needs to stop giving away his wicket.
“What can you say to Harry Brook that will make him listen? He bats as if it is T20. The greatest run-scorer of any era was Don Bradman. He regularly scored faster than any other batsman in history. There have been occasional innings from various batsmen who scored faster in one-off innings but Bradman did it every time he played," Boycott wrote n his colum for The Telegraph.
“Harry, nobody wants to rein you in or stop you playing your strokes because you are “box office" and you can win matches, but so far you flatter and then get yourself out. What a waste of talent! Have a think how many times the bowlers bowl you out with a good ’un and how many times you give it away. Take note from the greatest ever batsman and do not give your wicket away. You could be the greatest batsman of this generation and help England become the best team in the world," he added.
Boycott wants Stokes elevated up the order
Boycott also suggested England to make significant changes to the batting order for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne that will commence from December 26. He feels that Ben Stokes should bat at the No.3 spot as he has the discipline and concentration to face the new ball head on. With Ollie Pope dropped from the playing XI for the fourth Test, it remains to be seen as to who will bat for them at the third spot on the order.
“Ben Stokes should bat No 3. At times, he has shown great discipline, concentration and bloody-mindedness against the seamers. Yes, facing the new ball early on will be tougher than at No 6, but he has form and experience, rather than asking a young kid to do it. Ben is blocking well but he needs to find a happy medium to keep the scoreboard ticking over as well," Boycott further wrote.
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England's playing XI for 4th Ashes Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue.
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