harry brook He continued his outstanding start to life as a Test cricketer and took command of England’s series setter against New Zealand in the winter’s fourth century.
Brook dominated an uninterrupted tribune of 216 people. Joe Root inside Wellingtonreaching 136 during the tea break Yorkshire The duo moved their side to 3s 237.
England He was pitched to hit a green in the Basin Reserve, and Brook was under pressure at 21 out of three when he came into the crease.
But he took control of the situation with a spectacular shot and stole the momentum from Black Caps, who went up to three figures in just 107 shots.
With Root (72no) happily accepting the supporting role, the UK arrived at tea in charge after a chilly afternoon session. The excitement around Brook escalates almost every time, and he only snatched up success or Australian great Sir Donald Bradman, who remains the sport’s gold standard, by making his fourth swim in the sixth Test.
Root spoke in glowing terms about his Yorkshire friend after the player-of-the-match show at Mount Maunganui last week, and in his latest classy kicks he sat front row, dug, and shot his own mindful while he was his young partner. went to bully the home attack.
During the break, Brook had 18 fours and three sixes and was beaten all round while scoring better than a ball run.
New Zealand had an almost perfect start to the proceedings, with Tim Southee winning the coin toss and eagerly putting his opponent on a grassy surface, with Ben Stokes admitting that the British sailors were “licking their lips”.
It took a little over half an hour for the Kiwis to knock England’s top spot out of the equation, Matt Henry celebrated his return with a double fresh ball hit, and Michael Bracewell caught a stunning slip to knock out Ben Duckett.
Zak Crawley was the first to fall, beating Henry with just two shorts to his name, his last unconvincing response to questions about his place next door. He has now been sacked four times in single digits in his last six visits, and has seen his Test average drop below 28 in the process.
Henry got another one when it was too good for Ollie Pope, who sent a thick edge to Bracewell on the cord, to attack from the stump line. It was a sharp chance, he was captured safely, but pale in comparison to his next grab from Southee – he threw himself back and forth to single-handedly shoot the ball from the air.
England was now rocking, but at Root and Brook they found a partnership to rebuild. Brook played the offensive role, clearing three consecutive borders from Southee to state his intentions and ignore the scoreboard pressure. Neil Wagner’s short-act tactics only allowed him to showcase his powerful shot, while mid-paced Daryl Mitchell admitted two big sixes in back-to-back balls, realizing that it was impossible to control his muscular smashes to the ground.
Root survived his first delivery of a DRS dispatch for the lbw, but settled well for a controlled hit and flew under the radar just past fifty past Brook’s face, just one ball.
The afternoon belonged to the England double, Brook ruffled his crease to annoy the New Zealand bowlers and opened up scoring zones that Southee didn’t intend to wear. After a spell on the 99, he crossed the line with a punch to the extra protection ropes, and Root was applauded by the striker.