England captain Harry Brook produced the fastest ODI double century in history on Thursday, hammering 202 from 116 balls as England piled up 429 for four against Sri Lanka in their tri-series match in Rawalpindi.
Brook became the first England batter ever to reach 200 in a one-day international. He brought up his double century from just 114 balls, beating the previous fastest mark of 117 balls set by India’s Shubman Gill, and finished with 21 fours and 10 sixes before he was dismissed from the final ball of the innings.
FAKTA
- Match: England vs Sri Lanka, ODI tri-series, Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, 22 October 2026
- England total: 429 for four from 50 overs, the highest ODI total ever made in Pakistan
- Harry Brook: 202 from 116 balls, with 21 fours and 10 sixes; double century reached in 114 balls
- Previous fastest ODI double century: Shubman Gill, 117 balls
- Previous highest score by an England batter in ODIs: Ben Stokes, 182 against New Zealand at The Oval in 2023
- Other England scores: Joe Root 69 from 66 balls, Will Jacks 66 not out from 30 balls, Tom Banton 50, Ben Duckett 29
- Key partnerships: 159 with Root for the third wicket; 185 from 79 balls with Jacks
- How Brook was out: caught by Sahan Arachchige off Janith Liyanage from the last ball of the innings
- Context: Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to field; England were bouncing back from an 87-run defeat to Pakistan in their opening tri-series match
How the fastest ODI double century unfolded
Brook walked to the crease in the 16th over after Duckett departed, with England’s openers having put on 74 for the first wicket. He began watchfully, scoring only 13 from his first 24 balls, and the innings looked like a steady rebuilding job at first.
The tempo changed completely once he found his range. Brook reached his fifty from 42 balls and his century from 75 balls, and from there the Sri Lanka attack had no answer. He passed 150 from 97 balls, survived a reprieve on 185 in the 49th over, and then produced a remarkable final over.
Needing 14 runs from the last over to reach 200, Brook struck the first ball for six, collected two twos, and then scooped a boundary to bring up the double century. He was caught at deep backward point from the very last ball of the innings, walking off to warm applause after one of the great one-day innings.
A team total built on late acceleration
Brook did not do it alone. Root made a composed 69 and shared a 159-run stand with his captain for the third wicket, steadying England after both openers fell in quick succession. Banton had earlier made 50 at the top of the order.
The closing overs, though, belonged to Brook and Jacks. Their unbroken partnership was worth 185 from only 79 balls, with Jacks racing to an unbeaten 66 from 30 deliveries. From 248 for three after 38 overs, England added 181 in the final 12 overs, including 156 in the last 10, to reach a total no visiting side had ever posted in Pakistan.
Sri Lanka’s bowlers, who had started the day by winning the toss and asking England to bat, were left with no place to hide as boundaries flowed to every part of the ground, from powerful drives and pulls to scoops and reverse ramps.
What the record means
The innings rewrote two record books at once. It passed Stokes’s 182, the England ODI record that had stood since 2023, and it beat Gill’s world record for the quickest double century, set only weeks earlier. It was Brook’s fourth ODI century, and his previous best in the format had been an unbeaten 136 against the same opponents.
For England, the timing matters too. After a timid batting display in their 87-run loss to hosts Pakistan earlier in the week, this was a statement response, and it arrives with attention already turning towards next year’s Cricket World Cup.
Sri Lanka’s reply had begun by the time the record was being celebrated, and early wickets had already fallen in their chase of 430. Whatever the final result, the day already belonged to one innings: a captain leading from the front, and a record that now sits at the top of the one-day game.
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