Harry Brook came mighty close to becoming the fastest man (in terms of balls consumed) to scale the 2000-run mark in red-ball cricket but fell agonisingly short in the end. Brook reached the milestone on day two of the ongoing first Test between England and New Zealand at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch after facing 2300 deliveries.
Notably, the record belongs to his compatriot Ben Duckett. Duckett had scaled the peak after playing 2293 balls in the red-ball format. Therefore, Brook has now become the second-fastest to get to 2000 runs in Test cricket. New Zealand's Tim Southee is the third fastest to the milestone. The Kiwi bowling allrounder had reached the 2000-mark after facing 2418 balls.
Fastest to 2000 Test runs in men's circuit
| Player | Country | Balls |
| Ben Duckett | England | 2293 |
| Harry Brook | England | 2300 |
| Tim Southee | New Zealand | 2418 |
| Adam Gilchrist | Australia | 2483 |
Brook and Ollie Pope rescue England after early slump
The pair of Brook and Pope came to England's rescue on day two after they were reeling at 71 for the loss of four wickets. The pair added 151 runs for the fifth wicket before Pope fell to Southee for 77. Pope was flummoxed as Glenn Phillips pulled off a screamer at gully to bring his innings to a close.
However, Brook, unfazed, by Pope's departure continued on his merry way and completed his seventh Test ton. He now has the second-most hundreds (3) in the ongoing WTC cycle for England after Joe Root (6).
New Zealand's playing XI for Christchurch Test:
Tom Latham (c), Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, William ORourke
Bench: Jacob Duffy, Will Young
Support Staff: Gary Stead, Luke Ronchi, Shane Jurgensen
England's playing XI for Christchurch Test:
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope (wk), Ben Stokes (c), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir
Bench: Rehan Ahmed, Matthew Potts, Jack Leach, Olly Stone
Support Staff: Jeetan Patel, Paul Collingwood, Neil Killeen, Brendon McCullum, Marcus Trescothick
