'My Favorite Hundred So Far'- Harry Brook On His Ton At Wellington

Harry Brook scored a fine 123 in the first innings of the second test match against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. After the end of Day's play, Brook rated this ton as his 'most favorite one' This ton not only pleased Brook personally but also helped England post a decent total. The bowlers then responded well and ensured the Kiwis were in tatters after the end of day 2.

England had been reduced to 26-3 & 43-4 before Brook joined forces with Ollie Pope. Brook counterattacked to the seaming and swinging conditions and scored a brilliant ton, his successive test ton & fourth this year. He was supported well by Ollie Pope, who scored 66 of 78 thus adding 174 runs for the 5th wicket partnership in 159 balls. This helped England reach 280 in the first innings. The bowlers then led the charge with the red cherry as they had New Zealand on the mat at 86-5 at the end of day 2.

Brook On His Test Ton

"I think I'll pick this one as one of my favorite test tons, to be honest, it was because of the situation we were at 26-3, when I went in the pitch was playing its tricks, and I then just launched the counterattack on & build pressure on them(New Zealand)"

"Well that pitch at Multan was very flat and it was to score the runs, the outfield over there was quite fast, so I could get full value for my shots, here it was the conditions that were challenging with the pitch doing its bit, it was also about putting them in immense pressure, I'm glad to have hit the most balls out of the middle of the bat."

Brook now has 7 test hundred in his kitty in a test career of just 10 tests, his 7 hundreds have come in away conditions (4) in Pakistan & (3) in New Zealand. Out of his 2225 test runs, a staggering amount of 1464 runs have come away from home, thus ensuring he has a brilliant average away from home of 91.5

Brook on Pitch conditions

"I've played only in Pakistan & New Zealand, in Pakistan the pitches are very flat & nice to bat on, here, the pitches are bouncy with a good swing and seam movement on offer, when I travel to other countries it might just change."

Nathan Smith was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts in just his second International test match, as he picked up 4 wickets but, ended up conceding 86 runs in his 11 overs at an economy of 7.4.

Nathan Smith on Brook

"He showed us that we were bowling very well, as he was continuously using his feet or jumping out of his crease to ensure hit us off our lengths, he played some great shots today"

"He is one of them from the new lot, him, Rachin, & that bloke from India (Yashasvi Jaiswal), they are terrific hitters of the cricket ball, you put all these guys up there, Brook is a world-class batter."

Brief Scores: England (280 all-out) in 54.4 over vs New Zealand (86-5) in 26 overs after the end of day 2.