Harry Brook hits unbeaten 110 off 94 balls to have England in winning position when rain curtails third ODI in Durham; Australia lead five-match series 2-1; watch fourth match at Lord's, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 12pm on Friday, September 27 (first ball, 12.30pm)
Wednesday 25 September 2024 06:09, UK
Harry Brook struck a magnificent maiden one-day international century as the England captain guided his side to a 46-run win (DLS) over Australia in the third ODI in Durham.
Chasing 305 to win, Brook's match-winning 110 off 94 balls contained 13 boundaries and two sixes, leading an England recovery from 11-2 inside three overs.
Will Jacks (84 off 82) also played his part, putting on 156 for the third wicket, the pair blasting to all parts an Australian attack that desperately missed front-line leg-spinner Adam Zampa, out due to illness.
Cameron Green (2-45) picked up Jacks and Jamie Smith (7) in quick succession to a couple of short balls but there was to be no late wobble from the home side, with Liam Livingstone tonking a quickfire 30 not out off 20 balls.
With England cruising to victory - needing 51 off 74 balls - the rain arrived and sadly denied Brook the chance to see his side over the line, but victory was at least confirmed on Duckworth-Lewis-Stern, keeping the series alive as Australia lead 2-1 with two games to play.
Earlier, after Brook won the toss and elected to bowl, England's seamers probed away impressively in helpful conditions to reduce Australia to 47-2.
Jofra Archer (2-67) - back in for Olly Stone after being rested for the second ODI at Headingley - picked up Matthew Short (14), while Brydon Carse (1-55) added Mitchell Marsh (24) with a beauty, a ball after being smashed by the Australian skipper for six.
But for all England threatened, they failed to deliver the number of wickets that their efforts perhaps deserved. Steve Smith saw a tight lbw decision to Matthew Potts (0-48) overturned on review, while Carse bowled Green on a 'free hit' that briefly had the crowd excited.
On single figures at the time, Smith and Green made the most of their good fortune, putting on 84 for the third wicket, with England struggling to make up 10 overs out of their fifth bowling options of Jacob Bethell, Jacks and Livingstone, with spin not proving hugely effective on the flat Durham deck.
All three of the part-time spinners proved expensive, so it was a huge bonus for England when Bethell (1-33) and Jacks (1-20) bagged the wickets of Green (42) and Marnus Labuschagne (0) respectively in the space of four balls.
Smith continued on through to a 71-ball half-century - his 34th in ODI cricket - but was finally sent packing for 60 as Carse claimed a spectacular diving catch at deep square-leg.
At that stage, Australia were limping along somewhat at 172-5 in the 35th over, but Alex Carey - just as he had done at Headingley in crunching 74 in the second ODI - pitched in with another vital knock to fire the visitors up above 300.
The wicketkeeper struck an unbeaten 77 off 65 deliveries, sharing in fifty partnerships with both Glenn Maxwell (30 off 25) and Aaron Hardie (44 off 26) as Australia's lower order enjoyed themselves against an increasingly ragged England attack - 104 added in the final 10 overs.
The hosts carried that sloppiness over into the start of their chase as both openers departed to soft dismissals inside the first three overs - Phil Salt out for a duck when chipping one straight to mid-wicket, before Mitchell Starc (2-63) also saw off Ben Duckett (8) as he slapped one to backward point.
The early breakthroughs brought Jacks and Brook together and the two 25-year-olds - with only a combined 28 ODI caps between them - played a couple of classy, intelligent knocks in a sublime century stand.
The pair, on numerous occasions, picked up over-opening boundaries before sensibly ticking things over for the final five balls, keeping England comfortably ahead of the rate.
Sadly Jacks would be denied a maiden ODI ton of his own as he miscued a Green short ball down to deep third, and while the bouncer ploy also did for Smith, Brook would have his hundred moment to see England into a winning position for when the rain came.
England captain Harry Brook:
"It was nice to get the first one [hundred] on the board there. Hopefully there's plenty more to come.
"With the bat, me and Jacks just tried to stay out there as long as possible and create that partnership.
"I definitely thought the pitch got better towards the end of Australia's innings and it was just a simple message of, 'let's go out there and play your own game'. And thankfully it paid off today."
Brook raised eyebrows with some of his comments after England's loss in the series opener in Nottingham, reflecting on some loose dismissals by saying: "If you get caught somewhere on the boundary or in the field then who cares?".
Some interpreted that as a flippant approach to what is being billed - and priced - as an elite contest - but he suggested there had been a misunderstanding of his words.
"I think people took that a little bit the wrong way. You've got to go out and play fearlessly and almost have that 'who cares?' attitude but that's not a 'who cares if we lose?' attitude," he said.
"We all want to win, but you don't want to go out and have that fear of getting out. You've seen it so many times in the Test environment, at the start Stokesy (captain Ben Stokes) was getting out caught at mid-on which is unheard of before, so you've got to go out with that fearless attitude and try to take it to the bowlers."
Watch the fourth ODI between England and Australia at Lord's, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 12pm on Friday, September 27 (first ball, 12.30pm). You can also stream contract-free with NOW.
