Harry Brook made history during the fifth and final ODI between England and Australia at the County Ground in Bristol on Sunday, September 29th. He broke a five-year-old record held by Virat Kohli as England aimed to secure a series win.
Leading England for the first time in his international career, Brook has been instrumental in the team's incredible turnaround after falling 2-0 behind in the series. The 25-year-old's leadership and performance have been crucial in England's victories in the third and fourth matches of the series.
In the third ODI at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street, Brook scored his maiden ODI century with an unbeaten knock of 110 runs off 94 balls, helping England secure a 46-run victory (D/L method). In the fourth ODI, which was reduced to a 39-over game, Brook played a quick-fire innings of 87 runs off 58 balls, inspiring a massive 186-run victory for England.
Brook's exceptional performance with the bat continued in the series decider, where he propelled England to a strong position after Steve Smith's decision to bowl first upon winning the toss. The stand-in English skipper showcased his prowess by scoring a rapid 72 runs off just 57 balls, which included three boundaries and seven sixes.
Brook formed a formidable 132-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Ben Duckett, who also shone with a century. Duckett, a left-handed opening batter, achieved the second century of his ODI career by scoring an impressive 107 runs in 91 balls.
In terms of Brook's overall performance in the series, he surpassed former India captain Virat Kohli's record for the most runs in a bilateral ODI series against Australia. Kohli had previously scored 310 runs in a home series against Australia in 2019. Notably, Kohli and Brook are the only captains in ODI cricket history to have scored over 300 runs in a bilateral series against Australia.
Most runs scored by a captain in bilateral ODIs against Australia:
Harry Brook (England) - 312 runs
Virat Kohli (India) - 310 runs
MS Dhoni (India) - 285 runs
Eoin Morgan (England) - 278 runs
Babar Azam (Pakistan) - 276 runs
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