Harry Brook reignited the debate over his omission from England’s World Cup squad with a stunning century. The 24-year-old smashed an unbeaten 105 off 42 balls, the fastest century in the competition’s history, but his efforts proved to be vain as Welsh Fire defeated Northern Superchargers by 8 wickets.
Harry Brook’s stunning innings
Brook was 10 after 20 balls and the next highest score for the Northern Superchargers was just 15 from Adam Hose. Brook had four more balls when Hose fell, took off and hit 101 off the last 130 runs himself. That included 18 runs from four shots from Luke Wells and 22 runs from the last five balls of David Payne’s bowling.
The penultimate of these was dispatched for Brook’s seventh six to bring up an outrageous 41-ball century, and although the Welsh Fire could have cruised to victory more easily, Brook was awarded man of the match.
It's Harry Brook's world and we're all living in it…
Remarkable.#TheHundred pic.twitter.com/sLg3tqChCi
— The Hundred (@thehundred) August 22, 2023
Harry Brook not included in WC’s squad
The knock was something of a statement, coming less than a week after England announced that Brook would not be part of their provisional squad for the 2023 Cricket World Cup. The team management chose a bowling line-up with a tough schedule and supported Dawid Malan’s versatility in selecting him over Brook, arguing that he can open or bat in the middle order if needed.
Question mark over England selection
Brook only played three ODIs but proved his international worth in other formats. At the time, some questioned the decision as Jofra Archer, who was next to journeyman reserve Brook for the aforementioned competition, was speechless on television when he heard the news, Kevin Pietersen said he was stunned.
Since then, the outcry has only grown. Pietersen and Michael Vaughan have predicted that Brook will be at the World Cup and that England will be able to make changes to their squad before the break at the end of September.
