England’s Harry Brook was dismissed for a golden duck on Day 5 of the first Test against India at Headingley in Leeds on Tuesday, June 24. During England’s 371-run chase, he came into bat at the fall of Ben Duckett’s wicket and was caught down leg by Shardul Thakur’s bowling. The right-handed batter only succeeded in feathering the ball to the keeper despite attempting a leg-stump half volley.
Harry Brook’s first-ball dismissal came after his stunning 99 in the first innings. By the way, if Jasprit Bumrah hadn’t overstepped, he might have been out without scoring in the first innings as well. When Prasidh Krishna hooked a short ball to deep backward square leg, the right-handed batter finally fell one run short of a hundred.
Harry Brook is currently just the seventh batsman in Test cricket history to score 0 and 99 in the same game. The first hitter to score 99 and 0 in the same Test was Pankaj Roy, the former opener for India. In the first innings of the 1959 Delhi match against Australia, Roy got out for a duck. In the second essay, he barely missed out on a well-earned hundred points with a score of 99.
In addition to Brook and Roy, Pakistan is home to the three other hitters who scored 99 and 0 in the same Test match. In 1973, Mushtaq Mohammad defeated England in Karachi with scores of 99 and 0. Additionally, in 2017, Misbah-ul-Haq scored 99 and 0 against the West Indies at Bridgetown, while in 2018, Babar Azam, another former captain, scored 0 and 99 against Australia in Abu Dhabi.
Harry Brook makes exceptional start to his Test career
England batsmen Brook has had come up with a marvellous debut in the Test arena. The right-handed hits debuted in September 2022 and after making a good start, he has become an essential part of the team. The 26-year-old has 2,438 runs to his name at 58.04 in 26 Test matches with eight hundreds and 12 fifties.
Four of his eight Test-hundreds have been made against Pakistan, including a career best of 317, made in Multan in October 2024. Moreover, the top-ranked English batsman also has scored three Test hundreds against New Zealand and one against West Indies.
