Harry Brook smashes 42-ball century against Sri Lanka
England captain Harry Brook has smashed a 42-ball century against Sri Lanka.
It is the joint-second fastest hundred by an Englishman in a T20 international, the 20-overs-per-side format that is international cricket's shortest and sharpest BBC.
The timing is loud. England are hosting Sri Lanka for three T20 internationals and three one-day internationals, the 50-overs-per-side game, with the home series due to commence on 15 September and Brook named to lead ICC.
A century means 100 runs by one batter in a single innings. An over is six legal balls, so 42 balls is just seven overs of facing. To score that fast demands almost constant boundaries. Bowlers run out of safe places quickly.
Brook has recent history against this opposition. In February in Sri Lanka, England sealed the T20 series with a six-wicket win in a rain-affected match to go 2-0 up Reuters. Tom Banton hit an unbeaten half-century in that clincher The Guardian. England then completed a 3-0 sweep, with Jacob Bethell and Will Jacks leading with the ball Sky Sports.
Days later, Brook produced his biggest World Cup innings. His 50-ball hundred drove England to a two-wicket win over Pakistan and a place in the Twenty20 World Cup semi-finals Reuters. It was the first century by a captain at the men's T20 World Cup and the joint-second fastest hundred by any batter at the tournament ESPN.
England had opened their Super 8s campaign, the World Cup's second group stage, at that tournament against Sri Lanka. For the home series, young batter Aneurin Donald was in line for a T20 debut against the same opponents in Southampton.
What makes this stand out is repetition. Brook has now stacked major T20 hundreds in February and September. He once marked a hundred against Sri Lanka with a 'beer smash' celebration. For new fans, the message is simple. Watch Brook early. The game can move fast when he gets going.
