Harry Brook has declared his stunning century against New Zealand as the finest innings he’s played following his masterclass that helped turn the tide for England on the first day of the second Test in Wellington.

It was a bowlers’ paradise at the Basin Reserve, and despite the pitch having a bite, wickets tumbled rapidly; England were skittled for 280 and the hosts stumbled to 86-5 by the close of play.

A remarkable 15 dismissals were witnessed, occurring once every nine deliveries, but Brook stood out with his bat, smacking a determined 123 off 115 balls.

Amidst the challenging conditions, he dispatched the ball beyond the boundary for six on five occasions and crossed the ropes for four, 11 times.

Though Brook has scored higher totals – including last week’s 171 in Christchurch and a top score of 317 in Multan – this hundred, which came amidst an England crisis at 26-3, then 43-4, felt unparalleled as he squared up against a roaring pace assault and undid their efforts with commanding hitting.

His knock was finally curtailed through a miscommunication leading to a run-out.

Brook said: “I think that might be my favourite hundred so far, I enjoyed that one a lot. Most of the balls came out of the middle of the bat and it feels pretty special to be batting like that.

“We were three down when I came in and the pitch was doing quite a bit. It was seaming and swinging so I’m just glad I put my attacking mode on. 

“I really took it to them and put them under a lot of pressure. The best mode of defence for me was attack and thankfully it came off.”

The talent of Brook, who soared to second place behind Joe Root in the world rankings, is indisputable as evidenced by his exceptional run of form with seven away centuries in 10 outings, boasting an average that reminisces the legendary Don Bradman at 91.50 outside of home turf.

In comparison, former England skippers Michael Atherton and Alec Stewart achieved a similar milestone in terms of centuries, albeit taking 48 and 59 matches respectively. 

Having surpassed the 1,000-run mark in 2024 already, Brook’s aggressive batting flourished even further when he fearlessly charged Nathan Smith, sending the ball sailing over extra cover and out of the stadium.

His daring actions on the field were not without calculation, as he admitted: “I’m not sure you can run down (the pitch) on instinct. That’s got to be premeditated.

“They had to try and bowl at the stumps early on and I felt like the time to run down was then; cash in when it’s full. I just tried to take them off their length and stop them bowling on the stumps.”

Ollie Pope bolstered Brook’s performance with a resilient 66 runs – standing as the day’s second-highest score – and Brydon Carse later reinforced their efforts.

The fast bowler showed remarkable resilience after his dismissal of Kane Williamson with a stunning delivery was overturned due to an excruciatingly close no-ball call. 

Undeterred, he redoubled his efforts and claimed the crucial scalps of Williamson and Daryl Mitchell later on, also executing a superb catch to dismiss Rachin Ravindra.

“I think the ball after he got the no-ball wicket was 92-93mph, he was fairly angry,” Brook commented.

“Every team needs a player like him, he bowls at 90mph, he’s diving and taking that amazing catch and we saw him come out with the bat and smack his first ball for four too. He’s a very valuable asset to us and an unbelievably good bloke.”