Harry Brook admitted that he made a big mistake in dropping India’s top scorer Sanju Samson three overs into Thursday’s World Cup semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium, which England lost by only seven runs.
Brook spilled a regulation chance standing at mid-on as Samson drove towards him off the bowling of Jofra Archer. Had he taken the chance India would have been 24 for two and Samson would have been out for 15. He survived to score 89 off 42 balls as India posted a total of 253 for seven, the highest score England have conceded in T20s.
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It is the third time in four editions of the tournament that they have fallen at this stage since 2021.
“I’ll hold my hands up and admit I made a big mistake dropping Samson,” Brook said. “We weren’t good enough in the field. We misexecuted, and can’t afford to do that against India.
“Catches win matches, don’t they, and unfortunately it didn’t stay in my hands. It’s just one one of those things. I didn’t catch it and he played a very good innings and arguably won them the game.”
Asked if the moment stayed in his mind, he added: “Obviously it’s in the back of your mind. I kept on looking at the scoreboard and he was piling the runs on. I was like, ‘Well, I’m going to have to get 89 tonight.’ It’s not ideal, but it’s happened now.”
Brook actually only made seven before falling to a brilliant overhead catch by Axar Patel running back from cover. England were then 45 for two but Jacob Bethell hit four of his next eight balls for six and led an improbable England bid to keep up with a rate of 12.5 runs an over. Bethell was out in the last over for 105 off 48 balls, England’s third-fastest T20 century.
Samson went on to score 89 from only 42 balls
PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
“He’s a phenomenal player, as we’ve seen tonight in a high-pressure situation,” Brook said of Bethell. “That innings was just phenomenal. He should be extremely proud of what he’s done tonight and this whole winter. He’s going to have a hell of a career with England and I’m looking forward to hopefully spending a lot of time with him in the future.”
Of the overall World Cup campaign, during which England won six of their eight matches, Brook said: “I’m disappointed but extremely proud. I couldn’t ask much more as captain. We’ve had an amazing campaign. I said the other day we’re never out of games and that’s been proven again tonight. We were in the game all the way until the last over.”
Brook gave a strong endorsement of the head coach Brendon McCullum, whose leadership style came in for heavy criticism during the Ashes, and whose future remains the subject of speculation.
“I’ve said plenty of times he’s the best coach I’ve ever had,” he said. “The way he speaks to everybody, he’s got an aura, everybody looks up to him.
Brook backed McCullum, whose future is uncertain, as the best coach he’s played under
MATT ROBERTS/ICC/GETTY IMAGES
“I feel I’ve done fairly well [tactically]. I’m quite an instinct captain, I make decisions on the feel and we’ve been getting a lot of messages from Baz off the field as well. Our partnership has been good. We get on very well and the communication has been outstanding. Long may it continue.”
Asked if he thought McCullum should stay as coach, he added: “125 per cent.”
McCullum told BBC radio: “I’m enjoying the role across all formats and I’d love to carry that on. I feel like we’ve made some significant improvements across the various formats.”