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Brock was similarly patient on Saturday.
He attempted a wild scoop but there were no attacking hits in his first 25 balls – a welcome show of restraint for a man often described as having too many shots in his armory for his own good.
To strongly criticize his eventual death is to ignore the broader picture of the day.
Surviving five sessions by tripping Nathan Lyon was impossible on a turning surface. To use Brock’s words, pressure had to be diverted, even if only a little, and kicks had to be scored and catchers had to be moved.
Brock was also not alone in playing the reverse sweep.
The right-hander, Crawley, Joe Root and later Will Jakes, played the shot 20 times Saturday afternoon and scored 29 runs.
Lyon had a five-run lead each time and was even removed from the attack at one stage. The plan was successful.
This was also the first time Brook was out playing this type of shot in his 33-Test career.
“They all tried to play it sensible,” said the BBC’s Jonathan Agnew.
“People will look at Harry Brook’s sending off. I get that. But they played the reverse sweep deliberately and played well to prevent him from playing on them all the time with players close by.
“The ball is up and rolling. It’s a legitimate tactic.”
Wicketkeeper Alex Carey may never have been the most abrasive of Australians but he was similarly sympathetic.
“I’ve played shots like that, so I can’t really comment,” he said.
“I thought he did well with the reverse pass – all the players in the team played the reverse pass really well today.”
Brock was undoubtedly guilty of hitting the wrong ball, even though all the reversals were intentional beforehand.
Lyon pulled his length back and pushed the ball straighter to leave Brook beaten, whether intentionally through the craft that comes with 567 Test wickets, or because Brook’s three successive shots to Travis Head shortly before had given the game away.
The latter was perhaps Brock’s biggest failure.
His history is not helping him and Brook must pay back for England over the coming weeks, months and years, having done very little in the first two Tests.
However, this may be something to give up reluctantly.
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