Harry Brook matches Don Bradman with latest Test ton as England enjoy afternoon
Continuing his remarkable start in life as a Test cricketer, Harry Brook took command of England’s series decider against New Zealand in the fourth century of winter.
Brook dominated an uninterrupted 216 with Joe Root in Wellington and failed to reach 136 on the tea break when the Yorkshire duo carried his side to 237 for three.
England had been used to bat on a green at the Basin Reserve and were under pressure at 21 for three when Brook got to the crease.
But he took control of the situation with an excellent innings and stole the momentum from the Black Caps as he roared triple digits in just 107 deliveries.
With Root (72no) happily taking on the supporting role, England reached the tea in charge of proceedings after a wicketless afternoon session. Excitement builds for Brook almost every time he goes into the crease and by making his fourth hundred in just his sixth Test, he matched the performance of Sir Donald Bradman – the Australian great who remains the gold standard of sport is.
Speaking enthusiastically about his Yorkshire compatriot after appearing as player of the match at Mount Maunganui last week, Root had a front row seat to his latest classy innings, digging in and playing cautiously himself while his younger Partners was about bullying the home attack.
By the break, Brook had 18 fours and three sixes that he hammered into every piece when he hit better than a run-a-ball.
New Zealand got off to a near-perfect start to proceedings as Tim Southee won the draw, eagerly shoving the opposition in on a grassy surface that Ben Stokes admitted had the English sailors “licking their lips”.
It took just over half an hour for the Kiwis to remove England’s top order from the equation, Matt Henry marking his return with a double New Ball swing and Michael Bracewell scoring a stunning catch-at-slip to get Ben Duckett removed.
First to fall was Zak Crawley, who trailed Henry by just two to his name, his latest unconvincing response to question marks over his place on the team. He’s now been fired in the single digits four times in his last six visits and has seen his test average drop below 28.
Henry picked up another when his attack from the stump line proved too good for Ollie Pope, who threw a big edge at Bracewell in the cordon. It was a sharp chance that was certainly taken but paled in comparison to his next grab on Southee – he threw himself back and over to snatch the ball out of the air with one hand.
England were rocking now, but in Root and Brook they found a partnership to rebuild around. Playing the role of attacker, Brook unloaded three boundaries in a row in front of Southee to state his intentions and shake off the pressure of the scoreboard. Mid-paced Daryl Mitchell also found it impossible to control his muscular strikes to the ground and conceded two big sixes on back-to-back balls, while Neil Wagner’s short tactics only allowed him to demonstrate his powerful pull shot.
Root survived a DRS referral for lbw after his first confinement but settled well in a controlled shot and flew under the radar as he worked his way past fifty, just a ball ahead of Brooks hundred.
The afternoon belonged to the England pair, with Brook shuffling over his crease to disrupt the New Zealand bowlers and open up goal zones Southee hadn’t even thought to plug. After a spell on 99, he got over the line with a smack on the extra cover ropes, with Root slapping him from the non-forward end.