Former England pacer Stuart Broad has hailed Harry Brook as the next Joe Root. The English pacer has drawn comparisons between the young batter and England’s modern-day great Joe Root. Broad highlighted technical similarities between the two, talking about the compact batting of Brook. He also compared Brook to Kevin Pietersen talking about his ability to dominate the off-stump line with precision. Broad applauded the youngster Brook at Stumps on Day 2 of the first Test between England and Sri Lanka, his praises were after Brook played a crucial 73 ball 56 against the Lankan bowlers.
"We had a really good summer when he came around the whole Test summer with us and I remember a net session at Harry and he had that amazing ability to hit that off-stump line through straight mid-wicket like really powerfully, a bit like Kevin Pietersen, stands up tall and hits well. Jimmy and I played with him at Yorkshire and we walked out of the presser thinking he's the next Root...When he came into the Test side, he doesn't overcomplicate anything," Broad told Sky Sports.
Sri Lankan’s valiant fight
Sri Lanka were bowled out for 236 in their first innings after Dhananjaya de Silva won the toss and chose to bat first. Chris Woakes and Shoaib Bashir were the standout bowlers in Sri Lanka’s inning as they bagged three wickets each dominating and turning things quickly. Sri Lanka fought well on the backs of valiant innings by skipper Dhananjaya De Silva and Milan Rathnayake who scored 74 and 72 respectively to help Sri Lanka reach 236 in the First innings. England scored 358 starring Jamie Smith’s resilient hundred alongside good knocks by Joe Root and Harry Brook.
Harry Brook's rise
Brook has seen a perfect rise in Test cricket in recent years gaining worldwide praise. In just 16 matches, he has scored 1,434 runs at an impressive average of 59.75, with nine half-centuries and five centuries. His ability to score runs under pressure is a testimony of his match-winning ability. , his performances particularly at home where he has scored 637 runs in 11 matches, have led to comparisons with Root. His recent performance against Sri Lanka further strengthens the belief that Brook might be England's next batting sensation.
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