England's stand-in captain Harry Brook scored his maiden ODI century in the rain-affected third match of the series against Australia, giving his side a crucial 46-run win via the Duckworth-Lewis (DLS) method. Brook's sensational innings kept England in the five-match series, extending their lead to 2-1 over Australia. At just 25 years and 215 days, Brook became the youngest England captain to score an ODI century; he is leading the side in the absence of Jos Buttler, who is nursing a right calf injury.
Coming to the crease at a critical moment with England at 11-2 chasing a target of 305, Brook led a counter-attacking innings. He made 110 off 94 balls, including 13 fours and two sixes, surpassing his previous ODI best score of 80. Partnering with Will Jacks, who made 84 off 82 balls, Brook put on 156 runs for the third wicket to help turn the tide in England's favour.
Big hitter Liam Livingstone batted at a strike rate of 165 (33 not out off 20 balls) and England were well ahead of the DLS score when rain interrupted play in the 38th over.
Brook made his second half-century off just 33 balls as he accelerated the innings in the face of deteriorating weather. He reached his century with two consecutive fours. Brook surpassed Alastair Cook's 13-year-old English record; Cook scored a century as England captain at the age of 26.
“It's nice to see some reward,” Brook said after the match. “I'm glad I played the way I wanted to. It's nice to get my first hundred on the board, and hopefully there will be many more to come.”
Australia's winning streak ends
Australia's streak of winning 14 consecutive matches in ODIs came to an end with the defeat in the third ODI. Australia scored 304-7 in 50 overs thanks to Alex Carey's unbeaten 77 and Aaron Hardy's 44 runs off 26 balls. Steve Smith also scored a patient 60, but the innings slowed down with Cameron Green (42) and Marnus Labuschagne (0) getting out within five balls.
After this, Australia had to struggle to stop England's batsmen throughout the time.
The team's winning streak in the fifty-over format began during last year's ODI World Cup. After suffering consecutive defeats at the start of their campaign, Australia bounced back with a strong win against Sri Lanka in the group stage and never looked back, eventually finishing as winners of the tournament for a record sixth time. They then beat the West Indies 3-0 earlier this year and had a strong start to the series against England as well, beating them in the first two matches earlier this month.