Harry Brook cracked an awesome 169-ball unbeaten 184 on Day 1 of the second Test against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. His whirlwind knock bailed England out from a delicate position, with Matt Henry and Tim Southee extracting movement off the seam to reduce the visitors to 21/3. Brook, however, could add only two runs to his overnight score before miscuing a drive to Matt Henry, who took a juggling catch in his follow-through.
The England wunderkind noted that it was the best of the four Test hundreds he has compiled so far, given the first three hundreds were registered on batting-friendly surfaces in Pakistan. “I think so,” he opined. “The position of the game makes that decision, to be honest. The ones in Pakistan were amazing and good fun, but they were all very flat pitches. Today wasn’t a flat pitch. It’s a good cricket wicket, but not a flat pitch where you can smack it everywhere. I’ve done that a little bit, but it’s a pretty good pitch.”
Brook has taken international cricket by storm. The Keighley-born cricketer now has 807* runs in just six Tests, and at an eye-popping average of 100.88. Only Sunil Gavaskar (912) and Don Bradman (862) have amassed more runs than Brook over the first six Tests. His unbroken 294-run stand with Joe Root also holds the record for the highest stand for any wicket by an England pair in Tests in New Zealand.
Brook highlighted that he is trying to keep his feet firmly on the ground and not get carried away by the phenomenal start to his Test career. “The onus is clearly on staying grounded despite the tumbling records, and even putting forward a strong case for a fourth Player-of-the-Match award in a row. I’ve just said now actually good times at the minute, but just around the corner there might be bad times so you’ve got to enjoy these moments and cash in as much as I can,” Brook said.
We are running out of words to describe Harry Brook…
He is just 𝗧𝗢𝗢 good 🤯#NZvENG pic.twitter.com/tz7R3vSegO
— Cricket on BT Sport (@btsportcricket) February 24, 2023
