In the Super-8 match against Pakistan, England captain Harry Brook single-handedly led the team to victory. After the top-order collapse, he scored a brilliant century (100) on a difficult pitch. His innings took England to the semi-finals.
Before the Super-8 match against Pakistan, England head coach Brendon McCullum took a big decision. He decided to send Harry Brook to bat at number three. Brook had not played in the top-3 in this tournament till now. The reason behind this masterplan of ‘Baiz’ was Pallekele’s pitch and the spin bowling of Salman Ali Aga. Had Pakistan scored a mountain of runs? Perhaps this target may not seem big in numbers, but its effect on the Pallekele pitch was something else. One hour and 10 minutes had passed since Brook started chasing the target. Then he moved away from the crease on a full length ball from Shaheen Afridi and hit a four over mid-off.
The captain who brought Pakistan to its knees
Former England player Nasir Hussain, sitting in the commentary box, said, ‘A Harry Brook special. England captain’s century in Pallekele and he is taking his team to the World Cup semi-finals. Pakistani greats like Wasim Akram and Rameez Raja were sitting near Nasir with sad faces. At that time, Brook looked like a commander whose entire soldiers had fallen, but he kept fighting alone. The England captain had literally single-handedly brought Pakistan to its knees.
When Pakistan’s chances of winning had reached 70 percent
A dangerous spell by Shaheen Afridi shook England’s batting. As soon as Phil Salt was out, Brook had to come to the crease on the very second ball of the match. At the other end was Jos Buttler, who was going through the worst form of his career. By the time Afridi finished three overs, Salt, Butler and Bethel had returned to the pavilion. Suddenly the probability of Pakistan winning on Win Predictor reached 70%.
And it also has to be remembered that Usman Tariq, Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan had not even bowled the ball till then. Nawaz came to bowl the last over of the powerplay. Brook sent the third ball across the boundary at fine leg, then came out of the crease and hit a four over cover. The over ended with a brilliant six over long-on. Brook scored 16 runs in this one over. At the end of the power play, England’s score was 53 runs, out of which Brook alone had 41 runs in 20 balls.
Putting brakes on the pace of runs, Usman Tariq got Tom Banton caught by Usman Khan. Apart from Brook, the other four batsmen in the top-5 had together scored only 12 runs. This match was no longer England vs Pakistan, but Brook vs Pakistan. After the powerplay, when Pakistani bowlers tightened their grip, Brook also showed some patience. But his patience lasted only for four overs.
Brook changed gears again in Shadab’s 11th over. The fifth ball of the over fell 96 meters straight across the sight screen. A total of 17 runs came in this over with the help of two fours and one six. Brook had a solid plan to deal with the Pakistani spinners. By coming out of the crease, he was forcing the spinners to change their length and was counter-attacking by playing sweep shots on the balls coming in line with the stumps.
Even Usman Tariq, who had kept England’s middle and lower order together, could not stop Brook. Brook scored 16 runs on 11 balls of Usman. Salman Aga and the rest of the bowlers looked helpless on the field. In the end, 27 runs were needed in 24 balls to win. On bowling, it was Shaheen Afridi, who destroyed England’s top order in a single spell.
Will Jacques started the over with a boundary. Then a powerful six came off Brook’s bat over cover. Four on the next ball and with this the century was completed. Harry Brook became the first captain to score a century in the World Cup. On the very next ball, Afridi uprooted Brook’s middle stump, but by then the match was out of Pakistan’s hands. Afridi did not celebrate the wicket. He came forward and shook hands with Brook and congratulated him.
Only three batsmen in England’s batting line-up could touch double figures. And there Harry Brook scored a century. When he was out, England’s score was 155, out of which 100 runs were contributed by Brook alone. His innings included 10 fours and four sixes and his strike rate was 196. Brook played every role in this match as opener, middle order batsman and finisher. It was a real ‘one man show’. And this innings came on a difficult pitch like Pallekele, which makes it even more special.