Harry Brook shatters records with fastest ton in The Hundred but Bairstow and Eskinazi reign on England batter's historic outing

SportsTak

England international Harry Brook enjoyed a record-shattering night at the Headingley in Leeds when he single-handedly saved his team Northern Superchargers from ignominy by smashing the fastest century in The Hundred competition. Brook, a 24-year-old destructive right-handed batter, displayed his full repertoire from strokes in front of an expectant crowd that ultimately helped his fellow batters save their faces.

In an innings where none of the Superchargers' batters scored more than 15 runs, Brook sizzled with an imperious knock of 105 not out off 42 balls. In his pulverising exhibition of brutal hitting, the attractive right-handed batter smashed 11 fours and seven sixes while registering a mind-boggling strike rate of 250.

The highlight of Brook's knock was how he remained undeterred by what was happening at the other end. While his fellow batters showed negligible resistance against the Welsh Fire's bowlers, Brook continued his assault that made fans inside the stadium holler in amazement.

The England batter's historic knock steered Superchargers to a total of 158/7.

Brook's brilliance was somewhat overshadowed after the Welsh Fire's chased down the target with eight wickets in hand and 10 balls to spare. In-form Stephen Eskinazi stepped up for his team once again and scored 58 runs off 28 balls with the help of five fours and three sixes.

Eskinazi's opening partner Jonny Bairstow was in on the act as well. The veteran batter added 44 runs off 39 deliveries with the assistance of one four and three maximums. Joe Clarke finished the job started by his openers by playing an unbeaten knock of 42 runs off 22 balls with the help of five fours and two sixes.

Coming back to Brook, the explosive batter sent a timely reminder to England's selection committee that snubbed him from the Three Lions' provisional squad for the 2023 ODI World Cup. Brook seemed to have lost his place in the squad because of Ben Stokes' U-turn from ODI retirement.

 

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