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"How about taking load off Stokes?": Healy calls out Brook amid England’s Ashes debacle

Aakash Saini

Alyssa Healy and Harry Brook [Source: @willowtalkpodcast/Instagram, @TelegraphSport/x]Alyssa Healy and Harry Brook [Source: @willowtalkpodcast/Instagram, @TelegraphSport/x]

Australian women’s captain Alyssa Healy has called out England vice-captain Harry Brook amid the visitors’ debacle in the ongoing 2025-26 Ashes series. Brook, who registered scores of just 31 and 15 in England’s humiliating eight-wicket drubbing at The Gabba in Brisbane last week, got out to some reckless shots in the match against Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland, believes Healy.

The Australian wicketkeeper-batter took a fierce jibe at Harry Brook and urged the latter to hold some accountability and take a “bit of a load off his captain,” Ben Stokes.

Alyssa Healy praises England captain Ben Stokes

While speaking on the Willow Talk podcast, Alyssa Healy praised England captain Ben Stokes for shouldering “too much of the accountability” amid his team’s Ashes 2025-26 collapses in Perth and Brisbane. However, Healy also criticised Stokes’ deputy Harry Brook for not taking accountability and unnecessarily playing reckless shots in the series.

She said:

"I actually think Ben Stokes shoulders too much of the accountability for everything. I have full praise for him. How about taking a little bit of load off your captain? 'Hi, my name's Harry Brook, I played a shocking shot twice in this Test match and I put our team under the pump unnecessarily twice. I've never heard him come out and say that."

In line with Alyssa Healy’s claims, Harry Brook raced to a well-settled 31 off 32 balls on Day 1 of the Brisbane Test before he flashed a Mitchell Starc delivery, only to be caught out by Steve Smith at slip.

The cricketer also nicked one towards Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey off Scott Boland to be dismissed for just 15 in the second innings as England folded up for 241. Overall, Harry Brook has managed to aggregate just 98 runs in four innings this series at a below-par average of 24.50.

Trailing 0-2, England will now face Australia in the third Test of the 2025-26 Ashes series in Adelaide from December 17.