He didn’t bowl much in the second stint, giving rise to reports that he may miss the second fixture, starting on July 2 at Birmingham
England’s Harry Brook during a practice session at Edgbaston yesterday. Pic/Getty Images
Amidst all the chatter surrounding India’s star pacer Jasprit Bumrah’s availability for the second Test given the need to manage his workload, England batter Harry Brook believes the hosts aren’t too concerned about it.
Bumrah claimed five wickets in the opening Test at Leeds, all of which came in the first innings when India took a slender six-run lead. He didn’t bowl much in the second stint, giving rise to reports that he may miss the second fixture, starting on July 2 at Birmingham.
High on confidence
When mid-day asked Brook if Bumrah’s possible absence was being discussed by the Englishmen, he replied in the negative. “No, there haven’t been any discussions in the [England] team, not on my part at least. India are an amazing side, they have been for so many years. If Bumrah doesn’t play, it’s obviously a miss for them, but they still have some fantastic players to come in. But, we are high on confidence and hopefully, we can go into the second game and get a victory,” Brook, 26, said in a select media interaction organised by the Sony Sports Network.
While most Indian fans are hoping for some generous spin on offer at Edgbaston with an active interest in the possibility of India wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav making an appearance, Brook, who has scored an attacking 99 at Leeds last week, revealed that the track in this part of England has traditionally been flat. “Historically, Birmingham can be a bit flatter, it can probably have a little bit more in it for spin, but it generally is an English wicket. It [the pitch] does a little bit with the new ball and then it gets better throughout. I am completely guessing, but if there’s any spin at all, it’ll probably be late on Day Three, Four of Five,” added Brook, has scored 2,438 runs in 26 Tests at an average of 58.04.
Eyeing early breakthroughs
India’s top-order remains England’s prime focus, said Brook, insisting that it’s vital to ensure the centurions of the last match — Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant (twin hundreds) — score fewer runs this time. “Obviously, you want to dismiss the top order as quickly as possible. That’s the dream — to get them three-four down in the first 20 overs — that would be amazing. The conditions were favourable for batting at Headingley. I think we bowled quite well, [we did] miss our lengths a few times in the first innings, but in the second innings, we put them under a lot of pressure, got early wickets. Hopefully, we can improve on that going into the next game,” Brook signed off.
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