Harry Brook came agonisingly close to pulling off one of world cricket’s great escapology acts after literally throwing caution to the wind at the start of England’s one-day series versus New Zealand.
At a blustery Bay Oval, Brook’s England team were reduced to a wretched 10 for four before their captain turned the westerly against his opponents, striking 11 sixes in an extraordinary innings of 135.
Only his predecessors as limited-overs captain, Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler, twice, have cleared the boundary more often in an international innings for England. His contribution of 60.53% of his team’s 223 all out represented a new national high.
‘Obviously it wasn't an ideal start but it was a do or die moment, I always like to try and take the aggressive option and look to put them under as much pressure as possible,’ Brook said.
’It's disappointing to not win, but I'm more happy with the way I did play and the way I tried to shift the momentum back into our hands.’
That momentum was firmly with England when wickets inside the opening five overs of the chase, including a first golden duck in one-day internationals for Kane Williamson, left New Zealand 24 for three.
‘I was thinking, bloody hell, if we get two more wickets here now, Mitchell Santner comes out and it’s a completely different game,’ said Brook.
They had chances to claim them too: New Zealand would have been 75 for five had Joe Root not floored a low catch at slip that reprieved Michael Bracewell when he was just two runs into an innings of 51. There were still 93 runs required when Daryl Mitchell, his fifth wicket partner, reverse swept Adil Rashid to point where Luke Wood bodged the chest-high chance.
Brook acknowledged ‘if we take the catches, you never know,’ but insisted the fielding was not a concern in a four-wicket defeat that returned New Zealand to second place in the world rankings and saw England, desperate to keep up above at least one of West Indies and Bangladesh in the standings and thus secure automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup, drop a point.
On the eve of the contest, New Zealand captain Santner estimated this would be a new ball pitch and he put the theory to the test after winning the toss, turning to Matt Henry, who set the tone by searing the first delivery of the match through Jamie Smith’s defence, and then offering Zak Foulkes his first bowl in one-day internationals at the other.
Foulkes swung the ball lavishly on the breeze, producing a series of pearlers to dismiss three more of England’s Ashes squad - Ben Duckett, Root and Jacob Bethell - inside the first half dozen overs. By the 12th, Brook was joined by Jamie Overton, a player who would have recognised familiarity in the situation. England were 55 for six at Headingley three years ago when he struck 97 against the New Zealanders on Test debut to turn things around. Here, they were 56 for six.
Brook’s 50 came off just 36 deliveries, but the real pyrotechnics were saved for after Overton, who struck seven impressive boundaries of his own, became the first of two leading edge victims in quick succession for Jacob Duffy.
A hat-trick of sixes took the Yorkshireman to his 82-ball hundred and four more flew from his blade before Santner’s spin finally snared his opposite number, terminating a new England record stand of 57 for the 10th wicket in the process.
During Brydon Carse’s opening burst of 6-0-28-3, England dared to dream, but ultimately they had been blown too far off course by a batting effort that saw six of the top seven fall for single figures. And even the brilliant Brook could pull them out of the mire.
