Michael Vaughan says Harry Brook ‘needs to learn’ to ‘dig in’ after his dismissal ’caused’ England’s collapse in the dramatic six-run defeat to India at the Oval.
England appeared to be cruising towards a series-clinching victory over India as they reached 301-3 in pursuit of 374.
Brook scored a brilliant century at quicker than a run-a-ball and found support from Joe Root, who hit his 39th Test hundred to put the hosts in control.
But Brook was caught trying to hit over the top and India took two more wickets in the evening of day four to leave England needing 35 to win on the final day with four wickets remaining.
A series that swung one way to another produced an epic ending as India took the four wickets that needed to draw the series, England falling an agonising seven runs short of victory.
Vaughan described Brook as a ‘genius’ after the match but suggested he needed to adapt his brutally attacking game going forward and particularly during this winter’s Ashes series in Australia.
‘Harry Brook had that thought process that he wanted to hit 30 or 40 quick runs,’ Vaughan said on BBC’s Test Match Special. ‘What Harry needs to learn is in an Ashes series, in a similar situation, just win.
‘I love the way he plays, his approach. At times, he’s a genius. He plays the game in a fashion not many have ever played.
‘I don’t want to take away from his positivity and flamboyance. But in Sydney, if England are 2-1 up, dig in Harry.
‘Yesterday afternoon, the Harry Brook dismissal did cause that collapse, but it’s the way England play.’
Discussing the series more generally, former England captain Vaughan added: ‘It’s been a tremendous five matches for England.
‘You’ve got to be realistic, this week they were down to 10 men, lost one of their bowlers early, and not got Ben Stokes.
‘You’re looking at the team going to Australia and I think there’s more pieces in place. We’ll arrive in Perth for that first Test and know the top seven. It’s just a matter of the bowling attack and getting that right.
‘Clearly Ben Stokes is going to have to get fit. With Ben Stokes in the England side they can beat anybody. Without him, they can lose to anybody.
‘This morning, Ben Stokes in that team, England would’ve won this Test match. He plays such a big in this team, the mentality.
‘You go through this morning and England did panic. They just needed one partnership. They panicked in the way that they can with the way that they play, they play with a huge amount of aggressive.’
Brook, speaking after being named England’s player of the series by India coach Gautam Gambhir, admitted he ‘wishes’ he has not played the shot that led to his downfall.
‘I wish I didn’t play that shot, but at the time I was very confident,’ he said. ‘If I got a quick 30 over the next two overs, then the game is done.
‘That was my thought process. Obviously, I wish I was there at the end, but you can’t write those things. In the back of my mind it was to get as many runs as quickly as possible.
‘I had every faith in Rooty that he would be there at the end. He is an absolute gun. He is an inspiration to many in the game. Hopefully, he is playing for many more years.’
Brook added on the all-time great Test series: ‘It is a great advert for Test cricket. To rock up with a crowd like this today when we needed 30-odd runs to win is phenomenal.
‘I don’t think we could get support like that in any other series, other than the Ashes. It has been awesome.
‘It’s been the most enjoyable series I have played in. We have not left anything out on that pitch. A very intense Test series, but a very enjoyable one.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.