Brook hits century as England keeps ODI series alive by ending Australia's 14-match winning run
Chester-Le-Street (UK), Sep 25: England captain Harry Brook struck his first one-day international century before his team clinched a 46-run win by the DLS method to keep alive the series against Australia.
Chasing 305 to win the third ODI, England was 254-4 — with Brook unbeaten on 110 — when heavy rain arrived in the day-nighter at Chester-le-Street. The teams didn't get back on the field and England was well ahead of the run-rate.
Australia, which had cruised to dominant wins at Southampton and Leeds in this five-match series, saw its lead trimmed to 2-1 and its 14-match winning run in ODIs come to an end. During that streak, the team won the Cricket World Cup in India last year.
Coming to the crease with England in trouble on 11-2, Brook took on Australia's seam attack by hitting 13 fours and two sixes in a 94-ball knock to easily surpass his previous ODI-best score of 80.
“I'm relieved, for sure. It's just nice to see some rewards,” said Brook, who gained his first win as stand-in skipper for the injured Jos Buttler. “I'm just glad I managed to play the way I wanted to. It's nice to get that first hundred on the board and hopefully there's plenty more to come.
“I feel like I've been a little bit stop-start this summer. I've had a lot of starts — 30s and 40s — and then not managed to convert, which is frustrating. To do that today, I feel like I'm back in a good place."
The series continues on Friday with the fourth ODI at Lord's.
Playing without explosive opener Travis Head (rested) and star spinner Adam Zampa (ill), Australia was put into bat and needed a strong finish — mainly thanks to Alex Carey's unbeaten 77 and No. 8 batter Aaron Hardie's 44 off 26 — to post 304-7 off its 50 overs.
Steve Smith hit a patient 60 off 82 balls, after the tourists' innings was slowed by losing Cameron Green (42) and Marnus Labuschagne (0) in space of five balls just past the halfway mark.
It looked a tough chase for a youthful England team that had been outclassed so far this series and things started badly when Mitchell Starc dismissed Phil Salt (for an eight-ball duck) and Ben Duckett (8) in the same over — Australia's third.
Brook embraced the pressure of the occasion and went on the attack pretty much from the start of his innings.
His third-wicket stand of 156 with Will Jacks (84 off 82 balls) swung the momentum England's way and the team maintained it when the big-hitting Liam Livingstone came in at No. 6 and immediately smashed two sixes.
Brook used the uppercut to great effect to deal with some short-pitched bowling from the Australians and hit a straight drive for four to get to 99. Off the next ball, he opened the face and edged for another four to reach his century, prompting him to remove his helmet and look to the sky.
Brook's second fifty came off just 33 deliveries.
England's push for victory was then held up by the rain that arrived in the 38th over. It got heavier and heavier, with the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern formula showing that the hosts were well in front of the run-rate.
Brook made some interesting comments after the series opener in Nottingham, reflecting on some loose dismissals by saying: “If you get caught somewhere on the boundary or in the field, then who cares?”
He said his words had been misunderstood.
“I think people took that a little bit the wrong way. You've got to go out and play fearlessly and almost have that who cares?' attitude. But that's not a who cares if we lose?' attitude,” Brook said.
“We all want to win, but you don't want to go out and have that fear of getting out."
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Andhra to be developed as knowledge, creator economy hub: CM Naidu
New Delhi/Amaravati (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said the state is taking steps to transform itself into a knowledge and creator economy hub with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and quantum technology.
He noted that Andhra Pradesh has abundant tech-driven youth and the government is formulating plans to train them in futuristic technologies with support from global technology firms.
"Our goal is to transform Andhra Pradesh into a knowledge hub by focusing on AI, quantum computing, data centres, drone cities and space cities. The youth will remain our biggest asset over the next 25 years, and we seek global partnerships to scale up the creator economy," said Naidu during his interactions at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi.
Naidu, who participated in the summit in the national capital, also held meetings with several global technology leaders and industrialists to explore collaborations in artificial intelligence, clean energy and innovation ecosystems.
He met Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Autodesk AI Head Mike Haley, Aramco India Director Abdul Rehman AiThukair, LEGO Education Vice President Tom Hall, Aadhaar Founder and CTO Srikanth Nadhamuni, Khosla Ventures Managing Partner Vinod Khosla and others at the AP Pavilion.
The chief minister also held discussions with Saudi Aramco representatives on clean energy projects, including solar initiatives, and invited the company to expand operations in Andhra Pradesh, stating that the state is highly suitable for green energy production.
He sought support from NVIDIA Vice President Callista Redmond for establishing AI Living Labs and proposed partnerships through the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub to promote youth innovation, including collaborations with IIT Tirupati and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati under the Andhra Pradesh Future Innovation and Research for Science and Technology (AP FIRST) initiative.
Naidu urged Autodesk leadership to support the development of Global Capability Centres in design engineering and requested the establishment of an Innovation Academy in Amaravati aligned with quantum technology, besides proposing AI and robotics learning labs in partnership with LEGO Education.
He also discussed AI-driven smart governance solutions with Quantela Inc Chairman Sridhar Gadhi, while World Bank Group Digital AI Regional Director Mahesh Uttamchandani met Naidu on the sidelines of the summit.
Following the meetings, Naidu visited various exhibition stalls at the summit, including those of NVIDIA, Tata, Intel and Microsoft, and reviewed AI applications across agriculture, healthcare and industry.
