Brook being driven batty by England struggle for consistency

HARRY Brook admits he is starting to get frustrated at England's topsy-turvy batting after they crashed to another ODI series defeat.

- By DAVID CHARLESWORTH

England put 400 on the West Indies in June and pummelled 414 in a dead rubber against South Africa last month, but in eight overseas ODIs in 2025 they have not batted out their 50-over allotment seven times.

In New Zealand, where conditions have assisted fast bowlers, especially early on, England have failed to find the correct tempo and paltry totals of 223 and 175 have been overhauled with relative ease.

Jamie Smith, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jacob Bethell all head to Australia next week along with Brook for a much-hyped Ashes, while Jos Buttler is regularly hailed as England's best ever white-ball batter.

So their continuing frailties are puzzling to Brook who, when asked if he was irritated for the first time in his brief limited-overs captaincy, said: “Yeah, it is disappointing.