England surely have caused a lot of intrigue and given rise to a raging debate on how Test cricket should be played to make it more appealing to a generation that is being fed a steady and ever increasing diet of T20 cricket.
Their aggressive brand of playing Test cricket has surely given them plenty of success that involves taking plenty of risks, throwing caution to the wind which, they claim, is geared towards providing entertainment to the public.
The pitfalls of that strategy were laid bare during the early part of Ashes 2023 but the upside of it was visible in Manchester when England thoroughly dominated Australia before rain forced a draw denying them a chance to level the series and go for a win in the fifth and final Test.
Australia have kept a 2-1 lead in the five-match series and will retain the Ashes 2023 but England don’t think they have lost it technically.
“We haven’t lost yet, they’ve only retained it. There is another Test match to be won,” said England batter Harry Brook.
“It’s a shame the weather ruined it for us because we’d have felt very confident going into this game at 2-2. We were dominating the game last week, so if the game had played out, I would like to think we would have won. If we can win this week, yeah, it almost can make it a moral victory,” he added.
Brook says the aim of this team is to entertain and bring Test cricket alive again.
“We’re not focused on winning as a side, we’re focused on making people enjoy watching and bringing Test cricket alive again. I think we’ve done a decent job of that in the last 12 months and it’s been exciting to watch. It’s definitely been exciting to play in,” he said.
Brook is one of the most promising batters to have emerged from England in recent times, having scored runs across formats. He’s surely been a big draw in the IPL where Sunrisers Hyderabad shelled out a jawdropping Rs 13.25 crore to get his signature.
With England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) rumoured to be offering their players multi-year deal to ensure they aren’t lured away by the T20 leagues, Brook says his preference always has been representing his country.
“I want to play cricket for England. I’m not bothered about all the franchise stuff,” said Brook.
He then added that the crowded calender anyway limits the events a player can take part with IPL being the only one that offers a clear window for participation.
“Obviously, it’s a bonus but I’m completely focused on playing cricket for England. I’m playing all three formats for England, I don’t really feel like there’s too much time to be playing any other franchise stuff, to be honest. The IPL is the only one that is really free, when you’re available for everything, so there won’t be much thought there,” he said.
Comments
0 comment