England has kissed a fair number of frogs over the years, but on a typical Wellington pitch that began as verdant as Kermit himself, they have discovered a new middle-order prince in Harry Brook.
Not that the crown is beginning to separate from the current one. Joe Root recently questioned his role amid England’s aggressive resurgence, and on the first day of this second Test against New Zealand, he received an answer that seemed apparent to everyone but himself: just be Joe Root. He reached his 29th Test century by putting his head down and merely batting for 182 balls and seconds before the match was called off due to rain.
But as Root delivered his latest masterpiece at one end, picking off seven fours, pinching ones and twos in a wing-heeled fashion, and bringing out the reverse scoop party trick only towards the end, Brook’s remarkable start to his England career continued at the other end in a flurry of 24 fours and five sixes.
Matt Henry and Tim Southee
The 23-year-old had entered the field early with England in a precarious 21-point lead after Matt Henry and Tim Southee had sent the red Kookaburra ball flying off a baize surface at the Basin Reserve. By the time he walked off, he had scored 184 from 169 deliveries, his fourth century in his sixth Test match and unquestionably his best.
The two Yorkshiremen had an unbroken 4th-wicket stand of 294 to help the tourists reach 315-3 after 65 overs. This master and apprentice alliance also set a record for any English pairing on New Zealand territory, surpassing the 281 runs shared by Graham Thorpe and Andrew Flintoff at Christchurch in 2002. Root batted out of his crease, Brook frequently stood deep. And so New Zealand’s lengths were occasionally hurled despite a surface that offered some bounce and bites.
Brook has scored 807 runs in nine innings, the most in Test cricket annals. And he has done so at a strike rate of 99.38 percent. His anticipation of a bowler’s intention is remarkable, and when combined with significant power. He can defeat seemingly well-positioned boundary riders. The youngster who once took his wicket in the Headingley nets with a filthy seam-up is intimidating international attacks, as Root stated last week during that unexpected disclosure of his uncertainty.
None felt more victimized than Neil Wagner, whose once-effective bouncer tactic. Which has yielded over 250 Test wickets, was regarded with contempt. At times Brook simply backed away and carted him baseball-style, Wagner shipping nearly seven an over and at one stage forced to station Kane Williamson directly behind him on the rope for a bob-each-way bet.
Brook engaged in back-and-forth combat
Early in his work after England’s false start, Brook engaged in back-and-forth combat with Henry. The right arm being driven straight when he went full but occasionally beating the bat. The oddly missed draw shot also landed safely. Otherwise, it was one-way traffic inside this roundabout-shaped arena because New Zealand added a batsman. Which required Daryl Mitchell to bowl nine medium-pace overs. Brook reached his century in the afternoon with 107 balls, and his 150 with only 38 more.
Brook said, “I’m sure it will come down very quickly,” when asked about his overnight batting average of 100.87. “One of the things I’ve worked on over the past few years is maintaining as much composure as possible. There may be a calamity just around the corner. [Beginning with 21 for three] I was a little agitated. But I went out and tried to be as optimistic as possible.”
It was an ominous beginning for the tourists. Though chastened by last week’s loss under the lights at Bay Oval, New Zealand marched onto their spiritual home to Vangelis’s haunting Conquest Of Paradise, the soundtrack of their World Test Championship victory two years ago, and Southee now had a genuine new-ball partner following Henry’s swift return from paternity leave.
New Zealand green tops play
In general, New Zealand green tops play truer than English ones, and the wind in this city makes it harder. Still, Southee’s grin was as broad as adjacent Evans Bay after destroying England’s top order. Henry, a superb fast-medium bowler whose bowling average of 41 is deceptive, showed no signs of fatigue from his early parenthood, Zak Crawley’s outside edge tickling behind on two and Ollie Pope, on ten, sending a thicker ball high to Michael Bracewell at third slip.
When Ben Duckett pushed at Southee on nine, Bracewell dived full-stretch to his left at slip, eliciting a collective groan from a sold-out crowd whose tickets cost just NZ$35 (£17) for all five days. Consider Andrew Strauss’ dismissal of Adam Gilchrist at Trent Bridge in 2005, when “the Beast” was swarmed by teammates who sensed that his return to daytime Test cricket could serve as an equalizer.
It was a false dawn, and after Root survived a first-ball lbw call. A session that had begun with three early losses concluded with 101 runs scored. Brook reached his half-century on the stroke of noon as well. Guiding one of Bracewell’s lackluster off-breaks behind square for a tenth four. It turned out that the new prince of England was just getting begun.
