On the sidelines of England’s first Test match against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford in Manchester, Harry Brook was showered with adulation by the legendary Stuart Broad.
Following Day 2’s stunning 56 off 73 balls that included four boundaries from England’s youthful batting sensation, Brook, Broad likened him to veteran Joe Root, who is considered one of the best batters in contemporary cricket.
The former England speedster emphasised Harry Brook capacity to use the deliveries bowled in the off-stump channel to his advantage and drive them powerfully through mid-wicket, reminiscent of Kevin Pietersen.
Broad likened Brook to former England Test captain Root in terms of calmness and consistency. He came around for the entire Test summer with us, and I remember a net session at Harry where he had that incredible 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’, Broad said to. ‘We had a really good summer’, Broad said.
“I played with him at Yorkshire with Jimmy, and we left the press conference believing he was the next Root.”He doesn’t overcomplicate things when he comes into the Test side,” Broad continued.
Back to the current match, Dhananjaya de Silva won the toss and chose to bat first, which resulted in Sri Lanka being bowled out for 236 in their opening innings. The two England bowlers that stood out the most were Chris Woakes and Shoaib Bashir, who both took three wickets.
When Brook walked out to bat in response, England was struggling at 67/3. He and Root shared a partnership of 58 runs, and then he and Jamie Smith added 62.
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Smith and Chris Woakes put on 52 more runs after Brook was dismissed, and the seam-bowling all-round player left for 25. The wicketkeeper-batter, accompanied by Gus Atkinson, concluded the day with a score of 72 not out from 97 balls. With a lead of 23 runs, the hosts are positioned at 259/6.
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