Harry Brook agonisingly short of century as England out just six behind India

Rhyl Journal

5 hours ago

The Yorkshire crowd was poised and ready to celebrate the local boy's century as he faced up to Prasidh Krishna on 99 but instead shared his deflation as he turned a pull straight down the neck of the fine-leg fielder.
Brook, who had sprung a clearly telegraphed bouncer trap, threw his head back in dismay and dropped his bat as he trudged to the pavilion as the first Englishman to fall for 99 since Jonny Bairstow in 2017.
Fantastic work from the tail means we trail by just 6️⃣ runs in Leeds.
What a game! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/kXvQ7GP08X
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 22, 2025
But his innings took a sizeable chunk out India's 471 as the hosts continued to give themselves a firm footing in a match that could still swing in either direction.
Brook picked up the baton from Ollie Pope after he was dismissed for 106 in the third over of the morning and scored the majority share in stands of 51, 73 and 49 with Ben Stokes, Jamie Smith and Chris Woakes.
Every run would have been painful for Jasprit Bumrah, who had Brook caught for nought off a no-ball in the final over on Saturday night, and there were further costly errors as Brook was dropped on 46 and 82.
Brook roared out of the blocks, ending Krishna's first over of the day with a cut for four and a thrash for six over midwicket, and assumed the driver's seat when Pope guided a gentle steer into Rishabh Pant's gloves early on.
His message rang out loud and clear when he took a couple of steps down the pitch and thrashed Bumrah for four through cover. Few batters have attempted to play the world's number one bowler with such freedom and even fewer have lived to tell the tale.
Stokes played the supporting role after arriving at number five, leaving it to Brook to provide explosive moments like his searing drive skipping down the track towards Mohammed Siraj.
The captain cobbled together 20 low-key runs but never settled into a rhythm and looked full of regret as he pushed defensively outside off stump and nicked Siraj behind.
Brook and Smith found a better tempo, milking 38 runs off six overs from the all-rounder Shardul Thakur, and negotiating the first signs of spin from Ravindra Jadeja.
Brook was bested once when he nicked one off the shoulder of the bat but the ball hit Pant's gloves hard and popped out.
After adding 118 for two in the morning session, England put on 138 for five between lunch and tea.
Smith was good value for a punchy 40 but, having seen one pull off Krishna go all the way for six, he was obliged by sending another straight to the designated catcher.
Brook was spared when he carved a regulation chance to fourth slip, Yashavi Jaiswal making a mess of his handiwork for the second time in the match. The punishment was swift and unforgiving, 18 runs off the following over as Brook cut loose.
The century appeared to be coming in quick but instead Brook made the same mistake as Smith, taking on the long boundary and coming up short.
England added 67 vital runs for the last three wickets, Chris Woakes chipping in with 38, before Bumrah wrapped up the innings to finish with a hard-earned and well-deserved five-for.