NEWS
Follow UsHarry Brook slammed 123 off 115 in the first innings of the second Test against New Zealand at Basin Reserve in Wellington on December 6 (Friday). The right-hander registered his eighth Test century and labelled it as his "favourite hundred".
England were 43/4 at one stage but that’s when Brook and Ollie Pope put on 174 runs for the fifth wicket. Pope perished for 66 but Brook carried on and smashed 11 fours and five maximums during his 123-run knock. Thanks to him, England posted a challenging total of 280.
"I think that might be my favourite hundred so far. I enjoyed that a lot. It was just the circumstances really, it was 26 for 3 when I came in and the pitch was doing quite a bit. It was seaming and swinging and I'm just glad I put my attacking mode on and really took it to them and put them under pressure,” said Brook, who also has a triple century to his name, which came in Pakistan.
"Obviously that pitch (Multan) was extremely flat. You could just lean on it and the outfield was so rapid it would go for four. Here in the situation of the game, the pitch, and the way I played...I felt like I was really putting them under a lot of pressure. It's a pretty special feeling. Most of the balls came out of the middle of the bat. It feels good to be batting like that."
Seven out of his eight hundreds have come outside England, Pakistan and New Zealand in particular. In 16 innings in Pakistan and New Zealand, Brook has smashed 1464 runs at an average of 91.5 and a strike rate of 96.5.
"I've only played in two countries - if I go to another it might change. The pitches in Pakistan are usually very nice to bat on. Here you get nice-paced pitches, quick and bouncy and I feel I can play a different array of shots."
In reply, New Zealand were 86/5 at the end of day one, still trailing by 194 runs. The hosts have already lost the first Test and are trailing 1-0 in the three-match series.
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