Harry Brook was involved in an action-packed duel with New Zealand youngster Rachin Ravindra leading up to his wicket in the opening game of the 2023 World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad today (October 5).
After losing the toss, England were sent to bat by New Zealand on the flat field. They had a strong batting line-up and tried to play hard up front, but they kept losing regular wickets.
Dawid Malan was the first to score, pushing a long ball from Matt Henry to the wicketkeeper outside. Jonny Bairstow got off to a good start (35 off 33) before passing a catch to long-off to further cover Mitchell Santner’s bowling.
Harry Brook, who was not part of the 15-man provisional squad, finished 4th in the opening round of the World Cup, thanks to criticism of Ben Stokes.
He started well and hit a boundary on his second ball against Trent Boult. Seven balls later, another boundary came from Jimmy Neesham. New Zealand opted for a batsman-heavy line-up similar to England, so they needed to add some part-time players.
Ravindra came to the bowl on the 17th, but was treated with contempt by Brook. Ravindra could not find his length and kept dropping his balls short. The first ball Brook faced in the over went straight to the point fielder. Next he had three boundaries, each to midwicket. The first two of his were tied for four, the third he was tied for six.
Brook sensed an opportunity to put pressure on the fifth bowling option and decided to attack with all his might. Ravindra had one short remaining. Brook swayed again to get himself back together, but this time the ball caught slightly on the surface, forcing him to mistime his shot.
Finally he released the ball into the air. It was Ravindra who had the last laugh as Devon Conway, who was standing at deep square leg, ran up for a comfortable catch. Brooks’ enterprising knock ended with 25 off 16 balls and England fell to 94-3 after 17 overs.
Five overs later, Glenn Phillips took the wicket of Moeen Ali and continued to rock England. The score after 25 overs was 135-4, with Joe Root hitting 43 off 45 and Jos Buttler hitting 6 off 13.
To bet on the World Cup with our Match Centre Partners bet365 head here.
