In the recently concluded five ODIs against arch-rivals Australia, stand-in captain Harry Brook was in blistering form leading the England team in Bristol on Sunday, September 29, 2023. Brook as first time captain for England after Jos Buttler was ruled out due to injury, piled up a huge score of 312 runs in the five matches making him the highest run scorer in the series. He scored 39, 4, 110*, 87 and 72. Thanks to 312 runs in his innings, the 25-year-old Brook surpassed the record held by Virat Kohli who had scored the most runs by a captain in an ODI bilateral series against Australia.
Kohli, the former captain of India, scored a total of 310 runs in five matches played as a captain in the ODI series held in India in February-March 2019.
Most runs against Australia in ODI bilateral series as captain
312 – Harry Brook (England, 2024)
310 – Virat Kohli (India, 2019)
285 – MS Dhoni (India, 2009)
278 – Eoin Morgan (England, 2015)
276 – Babar Azam (Pakistan, 2022)
MS Dhoni has tallied 285 runs to remain in the third position while Eoin Morgan of England and Babar Azam of Pakistan are in the fourth and fifth places with 278 and 276 runs respectively.
But in spite of his super show with the bat, Brook proved insufficient to help England win the series against their traditional nemesis. The hosts, who came back to win the third and fourth ODIs in the series, lost the rain-marred series decider held in Bristol last Sunday by 49 runs.
Not only breaking Turks records for the highest runs scored as captain in a ODI series against Australia, Brook also became the only Fourth England captain after Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook and Eoin Morgan to have scored three fifties or more successive in 50 over matches.
He is also the fifth captain in history to achieve three successive 50+ scores in 50 overs matches against Australia.
Captains to score 3 back-to-back 50s vs Australia in ODIs
3 – Imran Khan (Pakistan, 1990)
3 – Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pakistan, 2004-05)
3 – Eoin Morgan (England, 2015)
3 – Babar Azam (Pakistan, 2022)
3 – Harry Brook (England, 2024)
Having impressed in the one-day series against Australia, Brook’s next assignment will be travelling with the Test team to Pakistan for a three match series, which is scheduled to commence on October 7 in Multan.
Last Test tour of Pakistan in December 2022 was a turning point for Brook due to his wonderful batting display. He scored 468 runs within three matches while playing for Ben Stokes’ side which had Babar Azam and the rest of them. In that assignment, Brook scored a hundred in all the three matches for England and assisted them in inflicting upon Pakistan, for the very first time in history, a Test series defeat in Pakistan without losing a single game.
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