England thrash Sri Lanka after Harry Brook rejects rest to blast brilliant century
Sport | The Guardian
England captain hits unbeaten 114 off 49 balls in first T20
Sonny Baker claims three wickets in 119-run victory
As he nears the end of a hectic summer, Harry Brook was offered the chance to rest rather than play this series and how Sri Lanka must wish Pakistan’s red-ball side had extended him enough to force a layoff. As it turned out, the 27-year-old could hardly have looked fresher as he inspired his side to an overwhelming win over emphatically outclassed opponents, a brilliant century powering England to a 19th victory in 22 completed games since he took over the captaincy, secured by the margin of 119 runs.
Brook cavorted to triple figures off 42 balls, of which precisely a third were dispatched to the boundary, six of them beyond it, and ended unbeaten on 114 as England posted 254. But as much as his power his running impressed, using the size of the ground and manipulation of angles to maximum advantage, aided occasionally by the tourists’ imperfection in the field, as he scurried a succession of twos.
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