Some innings announce a talent, while others raise expectations of a player entirely.
Harry Brook has already produced both, taking his game from Yorkshire promise to the biggest stages in world cricket. However Harry appears to have a gift and a curse: every innings he plays with a Gray-Nicolls bat shows the next level he could reach.
For the first edition of 'The Innings That Made Them', we revisit five performances that showcase his rise. Across Test cricket, the IPL and England's white ball teams, these are the moments when Brook showed us another level.
1. The IPL arrival: 100* v Kolkata Knight Riders. Eden Gardens, 14 April 2023
There are few tougher places to establish yourself than the IPL. Every innings is scrutinised, every overseas signing arrives with expectations, and Brook's first century for Sunrisers Hyderabad provided an emphatic demonstration of his talent.
Opening at Eden Gardens, he finished unbeaten on 100 from 55 balls as Sunrisers made 228-4, setting up a victory by 23 runs.
Brook attacked immediately, hitting three fours in the opening over. But the innings also demanded patience. As Kolkata introduced spin, he worked through quieter passages while Aiden Markram supplied momentum, before accelerating again when the opportunity arrived.
Lockie Ferguson felt the force of that acceleration in an over that cost 23 runs. Brook's range, from powerful strokes through the off side to inventive scoops, made containing him increasingly difficult.
This was the first century of the 2023 IPL. For Brook, its significance went beyond the milestone: he had shown that his attacking game could command attention on franchise cricket's biggest stage.
2. The marathon: 317 v Pakistan. Multan, 9–10 October 2024
Three hundred and seventeen. A score that immediately takes its place in England's cricketing history.
Brook's extraordinary innings in Multan came from 322 balls, with his triple century arriving in just 310. He became England's first Test triple centurion since Graham Gooch in 1990.
Alongside Joe Root, who made 262, Brook added 454 for the fourth wicket, England's highest partnership in Test cricket. Their work helped turn Pakistan's imposing first innings of 556 into the platform for an England innings victory.
The conditions favoured batting, but the scale of the achievement demanded far more than clean hitting. Brook had to keep concentrating, keep finding runs and keep making good decisions long after a century had been secured.
That was the step forward. A player already capable of spectacular bursts showed he could sustain his threat across an enormous innings.
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3. The counterattack: 123 v New Zealand. Wellington, 6 December 2024
If Multan demonstrated how far Brook could go, Wellington showed what he could do when the conditions were stacked against him.
England were 26-3 when he arrived at the Basin Reserve. They soon became 43-4, with New Zealand's seamers exploiting a green pitch and movement off the surface.
Brook responded with 123 from 115 balls, sharing a crucial partnership of 174 with Ollie Pope. His century took just 91 deliveries, helping England reach 280 after a desperately difficult start.
He gave himself time to assess the bowling before taking the initiative. Once he began finding the boundary, New Zealand had to contend with a batter willing to attack despite everything happening around him.
The value was in the circumstances. Runs made with the ball moving and wickets falling carry a different weight, and Brook provided England with a way back into the match.
It belongs among his defining innings because it demonstrated judgement as clearly as power. Even under pressure, he could identify an opportunity to change the game.
4. The captain's innings: 100 v Pakistan. Pallekele, 24 February 2026
World Cup pressure brings a different examination, especially when you are the captain.
Chasing 165 against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup Super Eight stage, England lost Phil Salt to the first ball. Brook came in at number three, taking responsibility for a chase that became increasingly uncomfortable as wickets continued to fall.
At 58-4, England needed someone to take control. Their captain delivered.
Brook made exactly 100 from 51 balls, hitting 10 fours and four sixes. He adjusted his tempo around the wickets at the other end, keeping England moving towards their target while carrying the bulk of the scoring.
His dismissal still left work to do, but England eventually won by two wickets and secured their place in the semi-finals.
This innings added another dimension to his story. Brook was leading an England side through a difficult World Cup contest, accepting the responsibility that came with his position and producing a century when his team needed it most.
5. The record breaker: 202 v Sri Lanka, Rawalpindi, 22 October 2026
Brook's latest landmark took England's ODI batting into new territory.
His 202 from 116 balls against Sri Lanka made him the first England batter to score a double century in the format, surpassing Ben Stokes' previous national record of 182.
He reached 200 from 114 deliveries, setting a new benchmark for the fastest ODI double century. Twenty-one fours and 10 sixes helped England pile up 429-4.
Working alongside Root and then Will Jacks, Brook turned a substantial innings into something exceptional. The boundaries kept coming, and he remained at the crease until the final delivery.
Sri Lanka's remarkable chase ultimately brought England defeat, a reminder that even an individual performance of this magnitude cannot guarantee victory.
For Brook, though, this was another expansion of what seemed possible: the sustained scoring of his Test triple century, delivered at a devastating ODI tempo.
For every young player watching, there is something to take from each performance: the patience to build, the courage to counterattack and the concentration to keep going when a hundred is already yours.
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