Harry Brook has pledged to temper his approach against Australia after a frantic start to the Ashes, after Joe Root warned Australia that Brook is a "generational player" who "is going to deliver at some point" in the series. Brook, who is on his first Ashes tour, made 52, 0, 31 and 15 in the first two Tests of the series and acknowledged that two of his dismissals - caught behind driving at a back-of-a-length ball in the second innings in Perth, and edging a booming drive to second slip off Mitchell Starc in the first innings in Brisbane - have been the result of "shocking shots". 

Thirty-two Tests into his England career, Brook averages 55.05 with a rollicking strike rate of 87.36 and has thrived when counter-attacking from No. 5. But his approach has bordered on recklessness in this series, not least when facing Starc in the twilight at the Gabba, and he recognised that he might have to "rein it in a little bit" against Australia's "highly-skilled" attack. "It hasn't been an ideal series," Brook said on Monday, after England trained at Adelaide Oval.

"Sometimes, I've got to rein it in a little bit: learn when to absorb the pressure a little bit more, and realise when the opportunity arises to put the pressure back on them. I feel like I haven't done that as well as I usually do. I just haven't identified those situations well enough. "Most of the time when I've been overly aggressive is when we've lost early wickets and I've tried to counter-punch and put them back under pressure. I tried to do that in Perth in the first innings: I played quite nicely and gloved down the leg side. 

Brook is inactive on social media and said that he has not seen or read any of the criticism that he has received during this series, which has largely focused on those two dismissals. But he has reflected on both shots and acknowledged that he would have been better served by playing differently. "They were shocking shots," Brook said. "I'll admit that every day of the week, especially that one in Perth: it was nearly a bouncer and I tried to drive it. It was just bad batting. The one in Brisbane, I've tried to hit for six.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)