Brook’s assessment is a familiar one.
After England were bowled out for 131 in a one-day international against South Africa last year, he said his could have “gone a little bit harder with the bat”.
When they lost an ODI in New Zealand before Christmas, Brook asked, “Can we go harder?”.
Against the impressive Windies, Tom Banton also chipped a catch to extra cover pushing a drive off Motie, while Jacob Bethell and Will Jacks were bowled and pinned lbw respectively playing from the crease.
“Chasing nearly 200 is always a big ask and we thought the pitch would get a little bit better and it would slide on to the bat a little bit more, but that didn’t happen,” Brook said.
“We were probably a little bit careful, myself included.”
In the absence of dew, which makes it harder for bowlers to grip the ball, the pitch at Wankhede Stadium offered more turn than any other at this World Cup so far.
England played spin well on their recent tour of Sri Lanka, where they won a T20 series 3-0, but here familiar issues resurfaced.
“I thought we played spin outstanding in Sri Lanka and we’ve just had a bad day today,” Brook said.
“We didn’t manage to get over the line and they bowled well.”
Brook also backed leading pace bowler Jofra Archer, who conceded 48 runs from his four overs after being hit for 42 in the win over Nepal on Sunday.
“Everybody knows how good Jof is,” Brook said.
“He’ll bounce back for sure. He’s bowling rapid and I’m sure he’ll execute better in the coming games.”
England face Scotland on Saturday before their final Group C match against Italy on Monday, with both games taking place in Kolkata.
