captain of england harry brook Played a sensational inning under immense pressure and created history with a stormy century. First ODI against New Zealand Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui.
Despite England’s top-order collapse, Brook’s fearless counterattack led his team to a respectable score and etched his name in the record books as the first England captain to score an ODI century against the Black Caps on New Zealand soil.
England collapse early as Zachary Foulkes shines for New Zealand
The match had a very bad start for England, who came to bat first. New Zealand’s fast bowling pair Matt Henry and Zachary Faulks destroyed England’s top order with a brilliant spell of the new ball. Henry dismissed debutant Jamie Smith for a golden duck, before Foulkes ran through the middle order to remove Jos Buttler, reducing England to 33/5 inside the first 10 overs. The collapse continued when Sam Curran departed soon after, leaving England struggling deep at 55/6.
At that time it seemed that the visiting team would not be able to cross even the score of 150. But Brook refused to give up his attacking instincts and launched a fearless counterattack that completely changed the course of the innings.
Harry Brook’s explosive innings rewrote the record books
Brook’s innings was nothing short of extraordinary. He scored 135 runs in 101 balls with the help of 11 sixes and 9 fours and made England all out for 223 runs. His innings featured clean hitting, courageous strokeplay and unmatched composure amidst the chaos. This was his second ODI century and the most impressive performance by an England captain in New Zealand.
Brook’s 11 sixes equaled the second highest number of sixes in an ODI innings against New Zealand. Only Thisara Perera (13 sixes) has hit more sixes in an ODI against New Zealand. Brook joins an elite list that includes Marcus Stoinis and Fakhar ZamanBoth of them have hit 11 sixes in a single ODI innings against the Kiwi team.
The England captain became the fourth England batsman after Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root and Chris Broad to score an ODI century in New Zealand.
Brook’s partnership with Chris Overton boosts England’s total
Brook found an important ally in Jamie Overton, the pair saving England from a dire situation by putting on an 87-run partnership for the seventh wicket. Overton made a valuable contribution of 46 runs from 54 balls, helping to stabilize the innings before Brook came to his full strength.
In the 32nd over, Brook hit three consecutive sixes on Jacob Duffy and completed his century in just 82 balls. After this he targeted Matt Henry and hit him for three more sixes in the same over. His counterattack stunned the Bay Oval crowd and temporarily turned England’s momentum before Mitchell Santner finally dismissed him in the 36th over.
Brook narrowly missed breaking Ricky Ponting’s record for the highest score by a touring captain in ODIs against New Zealand. Ponting’s 141 not out at Napier (2005) remains the benchmark, while Brook’s 135 is equal to Chris Gayle’s effort at the same venue in 2009.
With this innings, Brook joined a select group of touring captains including Viv Richards, Greg Chappell, AB de Villiers, Mike Hussey, Dwayne Bravo and Sanath Jayasuriya to score an ODI century against New Zealand.
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