The Hundred 2023: Harry Brook’s historic Headingley ton in vain as Welsh Fire dare to dream

Despite being one of the most consistent performers for England in the recent past, Harry Brook failed to make it to the provisional squad for the upcoming ODI World Cup. Hence, the middle-order batter was motivated enough and eventually played a blistering knock against Welsh Fire in the ongoing Hundred 2023. Batting first, the home team had a terrible start and none of the batters could make a significant mark in the match until Brook arrived.

The cricketer barely took any time to settle down in the middle as he hit 105* runs off just 42 deliveries to completely change the complexion of the game. The Welsh team looked clueless in the middle as none of their plans worked against Brook. The 24-year-old hit 11 boundaries and seven sixes and courtesy of his one-man show, Northern Superchargers posted 158 runs on board in the first innings.

With that, they were relatively confident of getting the job done but just like most batters, bowlers too failed to deliver. It’s been such a season for the Superchargers where nothing has really worked for them. The bowlers looked bang average in the second innings of the match as Stephen Eskinazi (58 runs off 28 deliveries) and Jonny Bairstow (44 runs off 39 deliveries) gave a perfect start to the visiting team. 

Their partnership of 77 runs shaped the tone of the match as Welsh Fire won the match by eight wickets. With that, they now have nine points in eight matches, which has helped them remain third on the points table. However, if Southern Brave manage to win their final league game against Manchester Originals, Welsh Fire will be eliminated from the competition. 

Meanwhile, courtesy of his memorable knock, Brook was adjudged Player of the Match. In the post-match presentation, he talked about his mindset and his future goals.

“I was trying to get us over the line. I was trying to hit the ball hard and straight. Had clarity. Needed a lot of runs. I had to change the bat as the handle was gone. We still got a group from last year. A few sides bonded better than us. I just want to continue to concentrate on the next game I am playing,” Brook mentioned.