Follow UsKumar Sangakkara has had enough of it. He just said as plainly as possible, “That wasn’t Bazball. That’s just arrogance.”
The legendary Lankan has seen enough red-ball cricket. So, when he leaves his diplomatic self aside and blurts out assertive and pointed criticism at someone, you know he means what he’s saying.
Frankly, all those who saw Harry Brook lose his timber to Akash Deep would have felt the same, because what even was that shot? Once you add the context of the game to it, the bravado turns into buffoonery quicker than Akash Deep can ever bowl in his Test career.
England had yet to cross 100 and were already three down. Joe Root and Brook were batting quite well, with Root looking as solid as he has ever looked at Lord’s despite the ball doing a lot.
Meanwhile, Brook had already made Indian skipper Shubman Gill question his field on multiple occasions, by smashing Akash Deep for two fours and a six in the 20th over of the innings. One of those fours was a brilliant ramp shot that almost went for a six. If not for Rishabh Pant’s falling sweeps and scoops getting mainstream, many would have stood up and clapped on that shot.
However, this was against a pacer with the wicketkeeper standing up, so it was more remarkable. And then he smashed a full ball outside off over long-off for a six that makes you feel weak in your knees.
Such scintillating shot-making with the ball moving and England being in trouble gave Brook the feeling of invincibility. He was Thanos, and the Indian bowlers were just mere mortals. And that’s where he did something that only an over-confident person does: underestimate the opposition.
Even before he got out on the third ball of the 22nd over, he was playing by exposing his leg stumps to counter the movement off the pitch. And since he played the ramp in Akash Deep’s last over, Gill brought the fine leg fielder even finer in this over.
So, with the intent of domination in his heart and all his blood flowing down from his heart, he decided to repeat that shot, albeit play it a bit wider towards deep square leg, rather than fine. As a result, he went more cross-batted.
That’s where the Indian pacer saw his opportunity with the middle and leg stumps exposed and fired in a yorker length delivery at the stumps. Had Brook aimed to play just a ramp on it, the toe of his bat would have met the ball, probably. However, he was cross-batted and even before he could bring his bat fully down, Akash Deep had shattered his stumps and was jumping around triumphant.
India had neutralised a serious threat 15 minutes before the lunch break.
Brook did exactly what Gill asked Zak Crawley to do last night — grow some f***ing balls (euphemism for showing some steel and gumption); however, his timing and execution were all wrong because he wasn’t batting with his brain but emotions. He was all hands and hearts, while the red cherry shattered his timber.
This is one of the classic ways England batters have fumbled chances of domination in a game under the leadership of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum. They got so busy Bazballing and having fun that they forgot that the opposition is playing a game too, and you can’t afford to falter in precaution or execution.
If the lackadaisical approach had been limited to Brook, England could still have given India a 220-plus target, and the visitors would really have been under the pump at the moment with four of their batters already dismissed. However, England never allowed them the chance to punch India down there as they were too lost to the idea of absorbing the pressure and rebuilding.
Later, Root also lost his woodwork while trying to sweep Washington Sundar, in the first occasion he attempted a sweep in the 95 deliveries he had faced until then. Sundar went under Root’s attempted sweep to clean up his stumps with the ball drifting in and then just straightening a bit.
Meanwhile, against Ben Stokes, Sundar got the ball to dip as it drifted in, and the English skipper played all over the delivery, and swiping just clean air in his attempted hoick over mid-wicket. It was recklessness personified, because England were six down at that stage with Stokes the only proper batter left. As it turned out, his side could only add 11 runs from there on.
There is a very thin line between bravado and buffoonery, and the brain usually draws that line. England erased it by their arrogance and as a result, succumbed to their own overconfidence.