Harry Brook admits he was all too aware of the historical significance a fourth Test century in as many games would have had, but was happier with the 89 runs he scored in the first Test against New Zealand than the 11 which escaped him.
Brook has made a huge splash since debuting on the big stage for England last September and reeled off a superb hat-trick of hundreds in the 3-0 whitewash of Pakistan before Christmas.
Having already conquered Rawalpindi, Multan and Karachi, the Yorkshireman came close to planting his flag at Mount Maunganui, scoring at more than a run a ball and stiffening the tourists’ resolve at a key moment on the opening evening.
Had he gone all the way to three figures he would have been just the second English batter to score four in four, with the great Ken Barrington achieving the feat twice in the 1960s.
A fourth Test century in just seven innings would also have been a record in its own right, but despite realising how close he was to writing his name in the history books he was content to help chip in for the wider cause.
England declared on 325 for nine despite batting for just under 60 overs and made the most of Ben Stokes’ hunch by reducing the hosts to 37 for three.
Asked if he knew about the records that were at hand, Brook said: “Yes, the BBC told me the other day!
“It was a little bit (on my mind) but I’m not bothered now to be honest, I’m just glad I’ve got another Test 89.
“I felt good, I played the way I’m always going to play and put pressure on throughout the day.”
At various stages of their knocks, both Brook and Ben Duckett were tracking to challenge for the fastest ever England Test century, set at 76 balls by Gilbert Jessop in 1902.
Once a niche figure from the past, Jessop has become an increasingly regular name to drop since England turbo-charged their Test tactics under the leadership of Stokes and Brendon McCullum.
I felt good, I played the way I’m always going to play and put pressure on throughout the day— Harry Brook
Jonny Bairstow came within three balls of usurping him at Trent Bridge last summer, while Brook has been in the hunt on three separate occasions.
“Brendon’s not said to go for it but, to be fair, I went for it a couple of times in Pakistan,” he said with a smile.
“We haven’t spoken about it at all, but the nature of the way we’re playing, we are looking to score and put pressure on the bowlers. We’re getting into such better positions and that probably leads to timing the ball better.
“I feel like whenever I’m batting with Stokesy, I need to put the foot down a little bit. He’s always doing funky things, running down and stuff like that. I got a few bad balls and thankfully I put them away.
“I think I dug in for a little bit but then I decided it was time to go.”
Brook was also fully supportive of Stokes’ inventive declaration, which maximised England’s ability to use the tricky ‘twilight’ period at the expense of a final-wicket partnership.
“The best time to bowl is under these lights, when you can extract the most amount of swing and seam, so why not try and expose their top order to that?” he said.
“It’s the hardest time to bat and we’ve got three of the best bowlers to ever play the game. And thankfully we got three wickets. Yeah, it absolutely paid off.”
