Harry Brook was at his scintillating best, smashing 135 off just 101 deliveries, however, his second ODI century came when England found themselves in the middle of a storm against New Zealand, being reduced to 4/10, before being lifted to 223, solely due to the captain’s effort.
Harry Brook seems to have taken to captaincy like fish to water as he went on a rampage against New Zealand in the first ODI of the three-match series in Mount Maunganui on Sunday, October 26 when his team needed him the most. At 10/4, the game looked done and dusted for England after New Zealand opted to bowl first in bowling-friendly conditions at the Bay Oval and Brook single-handedly got his side to a competitive score of 223, with a belligerent knock of 135 off just 101 deliveries in an exhibition of fearless batting.ย
Brook broke the record for highest percentage of runs for England in an ODI innings, surpassing Robin Smith, as his 135 comprised 60.53 per cent of the entire total for the visitors on Sunday. Among captains, Brook’s percentage was the third highest in ODIs, with Kapil Dev leading the list after his unbeaten 175 during the Zimbabwe clash in the 198 World Cup, followed by Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya.ย
Highest percentage of runs by a captain in a completed innings in ODIs
65.78 – Kapil Devย – 175* out of 266/8 (IND vs ZIM) – Turnbridge Wells, 1983
63.21 – Sanath Jayasuriya – 189 out of 299/5 (SL vs IND) – Sharjah, 2000
60.53 – Harry Brook – 135 out of 223 (ENG vs NZ) –ย Mount Maunganui, 2025
This was Brook’s fourth century across formats in New Zealand and he equalled the likes of Adam Giclhrist and Gordon Greenidge, among others,ย on the list of overseas batters to score most centuries in the country. Brook’s innings had 11 sixes and nine fours, which is the joint-second highest in an ODI innings for England and also the joint-second highest by an overseas batter in the format in New Zealand.
Most centuries by overseas batters in New Zealand
5 – Jacques Kallis (SA), Joe Root (ENG), Kumar Sangakkara (SL)
4 – Harry Brook (ENG), Greg Chappell (AUS), Adam Gilchrist (AUS), Gordon Greenidge (WI), Asanka Gurusinha (SL)
Most sixes by an overseas batter in an ODI innings in New Zealand
13 – Thisara Perera (SL) vs NZ – Mount Maunganui, 2019
11 – Marcus Stoinis (AUS) vs NZ – Auckland, 2017
11 –ย Harry Brook (ENG) vs NZ – Mount Maunganui, 2025
Most sixes for a captain in an innings in ODIs
17 – Eoin Morgan (ENG) vs AFG – Manchester, 2019
16 – AB de Villiers (SA) vs WI – Johannesburg, 2015
12 – Rohit Sharma (IND) vs SL – Mohali, 2017
12 – Muhammad Waseem (UAE) vs PNG – Kirtipur, 2023
11 – AB de Villiers (SA) vs IND – Wankhede, 2015
11 –ย Harry Brook (ENG) vs NZ – Mount Maunganui, 2025
Brook equalled AB de Villiers’ record of 11 sixes – the joint-fifth most by a captain in ODI cricket in an innings, while also equalling Chris Gayle’s score of 135 – the joint-fourth most for an overseas captain in the format in New Zealand. Brook did everything he could after his side found itself in trouble at 10/4 and 56/6, before Jamie Overton lent his hand to his captain a bit, stitching a quickfire 87-run stand for the seventh wicket.ย
However, 223 wasn’t enough despite Brook’s herculean effort as New Zealand chased down the target in 35.2 overs and took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
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