BARNSTORMING BROOK RIDES TO ENGLAND RESCUE

ENGLISH cricket fans have never had it so good. On day one here, a stunning 184 not out from Harry Brook and a century from Joe Root rescued England from 21 for three, as the pair shared a fantastic 294-run partnership.

- Cameron Ponsonby

However long the Brendon McCullum-Ben Stokes axis lasts, the memories this team has created for those lucky enough to have seen them in the past nine months will last a lifetime.

For the first time this winter, England were briefly in trouble, as they sunk to 21 for three in the first hour of play, and yet from the lowest low they then recorded their highest high, as Root and Brook combined for a staggering partnership that took the visitors to the close in an almost unassailable position, at 315 for three.

Such is the aura around this team at the moment that an 11th win in 12 already feels inevitable.

Brook's century, in particular, was sublime. No one in history has scored more runs after nine Test innings than the 24-year-old Yorkshireman, with his century at the Basin Reserve today the fourth of his career and, arguably, his best.

Arriving at the crease with England in the mire, he played a different game to Root at the other end and a different sport to his already departed teammates.