Brook and Root stroke classy centuries to rescue England’s ship in Wellington Test

Harry Brook and Joe Root scored magnificent centuries to rescue team England’s sinking ship in the Wellington Test against hosts New Zealand after Matt Henry struck twice to reduce Poms 21-2 in no time. Kiwi Skipper Tim Southee claimed Ben Duckett’s wicket to dent England further with the scoreboard reading 21-3 in the seventh over.

Just as when New Zealand would have thought they were in a chance to bowl out England cheaply, Root and Brook stitched an unbeaten partnership of 294 runs to go past the 300-run mark. That is when the rain gods intervened. At the end of 65 overs, England were 315-3.

The immensely talented Brook is undefeated on 184* while the ever-reliable Joe Root is batting on 101*.

The 32-year-old English cricketer brought up his 29th Test century and is also nearing the 11,000-run mark in the red-ball format. In 129 Tests, Root averages nearly 50.

Brook, aged 24, notched up his fourth Test century in his sixth match. Currently, he averages 100.87 and scores at a healthy strike rate of 99.38 in Tests.

For Kiwis, only Matt Henry and Tim Southee could take wickets. The left-arm fast bowler Neil Wagner was taken to the cleaners, as he conceded 101 runs from his 17 overs at an economy rate of 5.94.     

Meanwhile, as the weather showed no signs of improvement, the umpires abandoned the play for Day 1.

England won the first Test match in Mount Maunganui by 267 runs. Poms are in a dominant position in the second Test in Wellington and look to clean sweep the series 2-0. 

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