England cantered through the first half of the day before galloping through the second, with Harry Brook top scoring with 97 off 71 balls and half-centuries for Dan Lawrence (85 off 55), Joe Root (77 off 69), and Ben Foakes (57 off 74).
For a warm-up match that had already begun to feel like an afterthought, England made the first meaningful day of cricket on this tour count. A total of 465 runs were scored in 69.2 overs against a New Zealand XI. 55 fours and 17 sixes were hammered – a mantra all too familiar to the hosts.
Harry Brook continues his dream run
He first secured a spot on England’s World Cup winning Twenty20 team in Australia through his outstanding performances in Pakistan. Afterward, he went back to Pakistan and hit three centuries in three Test matches. He then made his debut in one-day internationals in South Africa and scored 80 runs in the second match of the series in Bloemfontein.
Next week, Harry Brook will head to Mount Maunganui brimming with confidence to participate in the first of two Tests against New Zealand. With a 13.25 crore IPL contract with Sunrisers Hyderabad in his back pocket, Brook continues his remarkable journey.
About his incredible rise, Brook said
“Last year was probably the best year of my life, lifestyle and cricket-wise, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. Standing here saying I’m a World cup winner is unbelievable and nobody can ever take that away from me. It was a phenomenal year.”
Coming back at this encounter at Seddon Park, Captain Ben Stokes, and his team will exchange favors by bowling at each other for a day. Feeling confident, Stokes has chosen to sit it out, just as he did before the warm-up against Pakistan. Ollie Pope took over as captain.
The first test begins on February 16.
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