Harry Brook scored an outstanding first one-day international century as he carried England to victory against Australia and kept the Metro Bank series alive at Chester-le-Street.
Captain Brook, deputising again for the injured Jos Buttler, came to the crease with his side’s pursuit of 305 in big trouble at 11 for two but changed the game with a magnificent innings.
He shared a transformative stand of 156 with Will Jacks, who hit a stylish 84, and went on to reach a dominant 110 not out from 94 balls.
Rain denied him the satisfaction of finishing the job in style but, with England 254 for four and needing just 51 off 74 when the weather turned, they walked away with a handsome 46-run win on Duckworth-Lewis-Stern.
When play was finally abandoned under evening showers at the Seat Unique Riverside the result was already a formality, as was the end of Australia’s 14-match winning streak in the format.
They made England’s task stiffer than it might have been after a slow start with the bat, moving through the gears to put on 104 in their last 10 overs and 44 in the final four.
Alex Carey, public enemy number one last summer for his role in Jonny Bairstow’s controversial Ashes stumping, led the surge to 304 for seven with an unbeaten 77 while Brydon Carse impressed far more than figures of one for 55 suggest.
The world champions were without a pair of key men, Travis Head rested after reporting soreness and Adam Zampa laid low by illness, but England’s resilient showing bodes well for the series’ final chapters at the Kia Oval and Bristol.
Mitchell Starc had threatened to make a mess of the chase in his opening blast, removing both openers cheaply. Phil Salt made a duck, turning the ball awkwardly to midwicket, and Ben Duckett mustered eight before squirting a yorker-length delivery to backward point.
Jacks and Brook came together with the odds stacked firmly against them but barely showed a hint of nerves. They got the scoreboard moving with a flurry of drives and when Josh Hazlewood dragged his length back, Brook threw himself into a bone-crunching cut shot.
Australia had enough runs to shrug it off when Jacks survived a close lbw appeal and an edge past slip in the same Sean Abbott over, but the fightback quickly escalated into something more substantial.
There was an eagerness to put bowlers on the back foot, with Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell and Matthew Short each seeing their first deliveries of the match pummelled. Brook’s towering six off Short, laced inside-out over long-on, carried his side past three figures in style.
The pair raced each other to fifty, Brook one ball quicker in 54 deliveries, before Australia recalled Starc to restore order. Instead, the left-armer’s second over back was blasted for 19 as England’s third-wicket duo added a dash of swagger to proceedings.
For a while everything England tried came off – Abbott ramped as Brook dropped to one knee, then pulled for a flat six by Jacks – but a bouncer plan from Green finally changed the tune.
Stepping outside leg, Jacks top-edged a cut to deep third before Jamie Smith took on the pull but picked out Maxwell on the rope.
With rain incoming, all England needed to do was stay in front of the DLS par and Liam Livingstone’s arrival ensured they did.
He struck three sixes and two fours in a rapid-fire 33no but the biggest cheer came when Brook reached his maiden ODI ton by banging Starc back over his head for four then deflecting him past the keeper for another.
The first innings saw England control the rate well for long periods, keeping Australia to 145 for four after 30 overs and 200 for five after 40. But they struggled badly at the death, Jofra Archer shipping 31 in his last 12 balls.
He took two for 67 overall, including Steve Smith for 60, but Carse looked England’s most dangerous bowler and was unlucky not to add to his dismissal of Mitch Marsh with an inswinger that threatened off stump and took the outside edge.
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