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England skipper Harry Brook has disclosed that the head coach Brendon McCullum’s masterplan was the reason behind the national team securing their spot in the semi-final of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign.
Notably, England defeated Pakistan by two wickets to make it two in two in their Super8 round to advance to the semi-final. England chased down 165 runs in 19.1 overs to defeat Pakistan by two wickets at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.
Brook, who is expected to bat at No.4 or No.5, scored his maiden T20I hundred off just 50 balls on a wicket that offered good assistance to the spinners, after his side lost three early wickets in the powerplay overs.
"It was all Baz. He came to me this morning and said, 'Look, we might change it up and put you at three today.' We've spoken about adapting and changing things throughout this competition, and just having the bravery to do that today was awesome. I'm getting better at number three. I haven't batted there much, but it's nice to get out and face as many balls as possible," Brook said during the post-match presentation.
With this century, Brook also emerged as the third England batter to score a century in all three formats of the game, after Jos Buttler and Dawid Malan. His 50-ball hundred is the joint-second-fastest in T20 World Cup history, alongside Chris Gayle.
Delving into the details of the game, Pakistan batted first and posted a good-looking total of 164/9 in 20 overs. Sahibzada Farhan was the top scorer, amassing 63 runs in 45 balls with seven fours and two sixes. Liam Dawson scalped a three-wicket haul.
In the chase, Harry Brook helped England chase down the target in 19.1 overs with two wickets in hand. Brook went on to smack 100 runs in 51 balls with 10 fours and four sixes as they advanced to the semi-final.
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