Brook “relieved” about first ODI hundred and first win as England captain

Harry Brook said he felt a sense of relief after his maiden one-day international century paved the way for his first win as England captain.

After heavy defeats to world champions Australia at Trent Bridge and Headingley, England needed to win at Chester-le-Street on Tuesday to keep the five-match series alive.

Brook came to bat when England were trailing 11-2 after Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc had dismissed both openers.

But the 25-year-old Yorkshireman responded with a superb 110, receiving excellent support from Will Jacks in a match-winning score of 156.

By the time rain ended England's pursuit of a target of 305 points, they had already done long enough to win by 46 points using the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.

This was further proof of Brooks' talent and temperament. The inexperienced captain led England in this series in place of the injured Jos Buttler and was playing only his 18th ODI.

Brook was just happy to be back.

“I'm definitely relieved,” he told reporters. “It's nice to have the first hundred in the account and hopefully there will be many more to come.”

“I feel like I've been a bit of a mess this summer. I've often started in the 30s and 40s and then failed to convert, which is frustrating.

“After doing that today, I feel like I'm in good shape again. Of course it's nice to score points against Australia, but scoring points is fantastic, no matter who you're playing against.” – “Want to win” –

Brook came under fire for his comments following England's series-opening loss in Nottingham, when he attempted to explain away some unforced dismissals by saying: “If you get caught anywhere on the boundary or on the field, who cares?”

But Brook insisted he had been misunderstood.

“I think people have taken it a little bit the wrong way,” he said. “You have to go out there and play fearlessly and almost have that 'who cares?' attitude, but this is not a 'who cares if we lose?' attitude. We all want to win, but you shouldn't go out there and have that fear of being eliminated.”

“You've seen it so many times in the Test environment. Initially, Stokesy was caught at mid-on, which has never happened before. So you have to go into it with that fearless attitude and try to instill it in the bowlers.”

Australia coach Andrew McDonald lamented the absence of key spinner Adam Zampa, who pulled out at short notice due to illness as England ended his team's run of 14 consecutive ODI victories.

McDonald had no doubts about Brooks' quality, saying: “All credit goes to Harry. He is an impressive player and will have a long career for England.”

“He's going to give us a lot of headaches on the trip. The way he played, the way he led today… sometimes you have to take your hat off to your opponent. This is one of those moments.”

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STERN GROUP

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