Brook was similarly patient on Saturday.
He attempted one wild scoop but there were no attacking strokes in his first 25 balls – a welcome show of restraint for a man who is often described as having too many shots in his armoury for his own good.
And to go hard in criticising his ultimate demise would be ignoring the wider picture of the day.
Simply surviving for five sessions by blocking Nathan Lyon was impossible on a turning surface. To use Brook’s words, pressure, even just a little bit, had to be deflected, runs had to be scored and catchers had to be moved.
Brook was also not alone in playing the reverse sweep.
The right-hander, Crawley, Joe Root and later Will Jacks played the shot 20 times on Saturday afternoon and scored 29 runs.
It had Lyon going at five runs per over and even removed from the attack at one stage. The plan was working.
This was also the first time Brook has got out playing that kind of shot in his 33-Test career.
“They all tried to play sensibly,” BBC Test Match Special’s Jonathan Agnew said.
“People will look at Harry Brook’s dismissal. I get that. But they had played the reverse sweep quite deliberately and played it well to stop him just bowling at them all of the time with close fielders.
“The ball has been popping up and spinning. It is a legitimate tactic.”
Wicketkeeper Alex Carey may never have been the most abrasive of Australians but was similarly sympathetic.
“I’ve played shots like that, so I can’t really comment,” he said.
“I thought he had success playing the reverse-sweep – all their players actually played the reverse-sweep really well today.”
Brook was undoubtedly guilty of playing the shot to the wrong ball, though all reverses are pre-meditated.
Lyon had dragged 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 such shots in succession to Travis Head shortly prior gave the game away.
The latter may have been Brook’s biggest failing.
His history does not help him and Brook must repay England over the coming weeks, months and years, having done so little in the first two Tests.
This, though, may be one to begrudgingly let go by.
