England’s Player of the Series, Harry Brook, credited Mohammed Siraj for his exceptional bowling as India registered a thrilling victory on the final day of The Oval Test and drew the series 2-2. During the post-match presentation, Brook openly admitted that before the start of Day Five, England were confident of a win — but Siraj’s outstanding effort denied them.
“I thought we’ll easily take it home in the morning, but the way Siraj bowled, he deserved the success today. I thought the pitch would be flatter after the roller. But it zipped around under cloud. But Siraj has had a phenomenal series and a finish,” he said.
Brook also shared that Chris Woakes was always ready to go out and bat, and reflected on the strong 195-run stand he had with Joe Root on Day Four. “Woakes would always go out no matter what. Unfortunate we didn’t get over the line. Was going really well when I Joe and I were batting,” he added.
Talking about his aggressive batting style, Brook said his mindset was to finish the game quickly and expressed his satisfaction in contributing to the team’s cause. Team India coach Gautam Gambhir chose Brook as England’s Player of the Series. Brook finished with 481 runs in nine innings at an average of 53.44, including two fifties and two centuries.
“But this series has been full of ups and downs and the finish was fairly fitting. My mindset was to close the game as quick as possible. Hindsight is beautiful. I’ve played alright this series. Not able to win it is devastating. Happy to contribute as much as I have. It’s been a very intense series, we’ve not left anything out there. Awesome series to be a part of. Great advert for Test cricket,” Brook concluded.
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