• Home
  • Who Said What
  • Bazball At Its Smartest Nasser Hussain Praises Harry Brooks Calm At Edgbaston

"Bazball At Its Smartest" Nasser Hussain Praises Harry Brook's 'Calm' At Edgbaston

Soumyajit Dutta

Nasser Hussain and Harry Brook [Source: @CSKlaasen8467/X.com]Nasser Hussain and Harry Brook [Source: @CSKlaasen8467/X.com]

Facing an early collapse at 25-3, Harry Brook's composed counter-attack rescued England on Day 3 against India at Edgbaston. His record 303-run partnership with Jamie Smith revived the innings. Brook patiently secured his ninth Test century in just 44 innings, becoming England's fastest to the milestone since Herbert Sutcliffe in 1928. 

Former England captain Nasser Hussain lauded Harry Brook's temperament under pressure, noting his ability to reset after a frenetic start on the previous evening.

Hussain Heaps Praise On Harry Brook

Nasser Hussain honestly praised the young England prodigy for his mature response to England's early stumbles and how he kept up with challenges thrown by India.

"For his last three Test hundreds, he has walked to the crease with the scoreboard reading 45 for three, 26 for three and 25 for three here. He clearly deals well with pressure. Yes, on the second evening, he looked frenetic but that was simply because all of England’s batter’s brains were scrambled after 151 overs in the field," Hussain wrote in his Daily Mail column. 

Hussain highlighted Brook's smart adaptation and refusal to be drawn into matching Smith's rapid scoring pace, even as Indian seamers varied their tactics. 

"Never gotten out to it. Importantly, he didn’t try to keep up with Smith, either. Smith overtook him very quickly, but Harry Brook just kept his own tempo. This was back to Bazball at its smartest," Hussain wrote. 

Hussain Explains How Brook Outsmarted India

Nasser Hussain emphasised Harry Brook's cricketing intelligence and focused on Brook's deliberate use of the 'charge' against the Indian pacers.

"Brook doesn't just play one way. He's a thinking cricketer and although there have been a couple of times that he has been sucked into things he perhaps shouldn't have - he had a couple of brain fades in the 2003 Ashes with the short ball, and then got a bit bored with Sri Lanka tactically bowling wide to him and lost focus - he adapts to playing the shots in his favour. His charging down the pitch early on Friday to counter the Indian seamers was a case in point," Hussain wrote.

Meanwhile, the massive 303-run stand between Jamie Smith and Harry Brook wasn't enough, as, by the end of Day 3, India swept England's tail and continued to lead, with Ben Stokes & Co. trailing by 244 runs. India will continue at the crease on Day 4 with Karun Nair and KL Rahul at 64/1.