Brook and Smith hit centuries as England makes India toil in 2nd cricket test

By Canadian Press on July 4, 2025.

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Harry Brook joined Jamie Smith in making a century as the England batters hauled their team back into the second test against India in a wicketless afternoon session on Day 3 at Edgbaston on Friday.

England reached tea on 355-5 — still 232 runs behind India’s first-innings 587 — and the unbeaten sixth-wicket partnership between Brook (140) and Smith (157) was up to 271 runs after they came together with the home team in big trouble on 84-5.

Brook compiled his ninth test hundred in 27 matches, getting to three figures — courtesy of a classy late cut for four — after being dismissed for 99 in the first test won by England at Headingley last week.

Brook, a star for England in all formats, reined in some slight frustration at India changing tactics and bowling wide outside off-stump to a lopsided field.

The run rate slowed in the second session as a result but Brook and Smith stayed resolute as they chipped away in the chase to the initial target of 388 to avoid the follow-on.

Smith was on his highest test score, with the only other century of his short international career being 111 against Sri Lanka last year. He raced to his hundred before lunch in just 80 balls — the third fastest by an Englishman — having come in to face a hat-trick ball after Joe Root and Ben Stokes were removed by pacer Mohammed Siraj off successive balls in the second over of the day.

Smith, an attacking wicketkeeper-batter, hit Prasidh Krishna for a six and four fours in one over before lunch but wasn’t as aggressive afterward and was dropped by wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant on 121 off a tough chance.

Behind in the five-match series, India looked like steamrolling the English after Siraj’s early double to removed their two biggest names.

The pacer dismissed England’s best batter — Root (22) — by enticing a nick down the leg side, with Pant taking a diving catch. Stokes arrived in the middle but was soon trudging back to the dressing room after a steeply rising and seaming delivery from Siraj came off the shoulder of the England captain’s bat and flashed to Pant.

England was rocked, but Smith and Brook have played as if there was no pressure with their counterattacking riposte on a pitch that still appears good for batting.

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

The Associated Press