NZ vs ENG: Harry Brook's century-scoring spree edges him closer to Sunil Gavaskar and Don Bradman

It has been a glorious run for England of late in Test cricket ever since Ben Stokes took up the leadership role of the side, and it finds itself very unfortunate to have missed out on the 2021-23 ICC World Test Championship Final berth, considering its ferocious form of late. It has managed to put its feet ahead on Day 1 of the second Test against New Zealand at Basin Reserve in Wellington, scoring 315/3, with middle-order batter Harry Brook grabbing all the attention with his unbeaten 184 and looks on course to slam his maiden Test 200.

While Brook's fourth Test ton arrived in just nine innings, he has amassed 800-plus Test runs. He has become the fastest Kiwi player to do so in his first six Tests, besides being third on the list globally after Sunil Gavaskar (912) and Sir Don Bradman (862), as he looks set to surpass the legendary Australian at least.

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Meanwhile, speaking on his innings, Brook acknowledged that the pitch wasn't the easiest to bat, framing, "I think so. The position of the game makes that decision, to be honest. The ones in Pakistan were amazing and good fun, but they were all very flat pitches. Today wasn't a flat pitch. It's a good cricket wicket, but not a flat pitch where you can smack it everywhere. I've done that, but it's a pretty good pitch."

However, when asked about his incredible numbers, he voiced, "I'm sure it'll come down very quickly. His onus is clearly on staying grounded despite the tumbling records and even putting forward a strong case for a fourth Player-of-the-Match award in a row. I've just said now, actually, good times at the minute, but just around the corner, there might be bad times, so you've got to enjoy these moments and cash in as much as I can."

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"One of the things I've tried to work on over the last few years is staying as level-headed as possible. There could be a bad moment from the corner, and anything could happen, so enjoy the good moments. But, we've still got four days left to play, and hopefully, I can be a vital part of it tomorrow," concluded Brook, reports ESPNCrcinfo.