The English captain of the White Ball Harry Brook urged his teammates to continue forward, despite the hectic schedule, and after the second subsequent defeat in South Africa in the ongoing ODI series with three matches. After a close loss of Lord, the captain rejected the suggestions that England should rest with its higher test players, especially with a versatile ashes since November.
England was not juggling formats non-stop, with several players, including Brook, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith, coming directly from the five match test series against India to hundreds before returning to international duty. Brook believes that the best eleven should play in every white ball game.
“I do not choose the Ashes side, it is on Stokes and Baz. We want to try to play our strongest side in every white ball game. We have the World Championship-World Cup T20 this winter and one-day World Cup for the following winter,” he said.
Despite the confession that the schedule is demanding, Brook refused to use fatigue as an excuse for recent England. “It’s easy to say (we’re tired), but it’s just an apology in my eyes. We’re good enough and fit enough to play for now,” he added.
In the second ODI, the hosts stood up with a very improved tab performance and after a terrible display in the opening of the headingley series, where they were released only 131, before South Africa set out for seven goal victories, showed positive brands. In Lord’s, England mounted a strong struggle and at the same time chased the big goal of 331, but eventually lagged only five runs, passed on South African Republic is an unsurpassed lead 2-0. Brook felt that the team approached unforgettable persecution.
“We felt that (South Africa) were 10 or 15 above the par, so it was a good effort for us to get into one wound of their score,” he said.
However, the hopes of England were deepened by expensive spells from spinners to part -time Jacob Bethell and Will Jacks, which admitted combined 112 runs in just 10 overs. Brook admitted that he made a tactical mistake during the match.
“I probably got it wrong on one occasion when I bowed to Jacky from the pavilion end to the right hit that hit him downhill. It was gambling and gambling was not worth it,” he explained.
This was only the second victory of the ODI series for South Africa in England, the first arrival in 1998, and visitors will focus on clean sweeping in the third ODI in Southampton on Sunday, September 7.
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Published:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
September 5, 2025
