Sports

Brook Credits Pietersen's Guidance After Blistering Century Powers England Past Sri Lanka

By icc

Kevin Pietersen's new mentoring role with England appears to be paying early dividends, as captain Harry Brook produced a scintillating innings against Sri Lanka in Southampton on Tuesday. Brook smashed an unbeaten 114 off just 49 balls, including 10 fours and six sixes, as England secured a dominant 119-run victory in the opening match of their white-ball series. Pietersen joined England's setup earlier this month as a specialist mentor, a role he will hold through the 2027 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, to be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. The ICC Hall of Famer watched from the stands as Brook's innings drew comparisons to his own explosive style of play. Brook revealed that watching footage of Pietersen had influenced his approach before the match. "I was actually watching his highlights earlier, funnily enough," Brook said. "He was a phenomenal player. The way he accessed different areas of the ground made it really tricky to captain and bowl to, and I'm looking forward to having a lot of conversations about that." Brook added that he had already discussed strategy with Pietersen, including reading pitches and adapting his game accordingly, not just in white-ball cricket but in Test matches as well. "Hopefully he can have a big impact on my career," Brook said. "He's a hero to a lot of players in that changing room. We all grew up watching him and admiring his work, and it's just awesome to have a man of his calibre in the changing room." Brook noted that despite limited time working together, Pietersen has already made a strong impression on the squad ahead of the 2027 World Cup. "He's a great figure to have in the changing room; the type of player he was, he looked at batting slightly differently, in a similar way to me as well," Brook said. "He always wants to try and put the bowlers under pressure, and I'm looking forward to working with him a lot more." Following the innings, former England fast bowler Steven Finn described Brook as the best all-format batter in men's cricket, a claim supported by the ICC Men's Player Rankings, which show Brook as the only player ranked in the top 16 across Test, ODI and T20I batting standings. Former England captain Ben Stokes went further, suggesting Brook's talent surpasses even Pietersen's. "I don't even think the genius of KP could come close to what Harry Brook has talent-wise," Stokes wrote on social media platform X. "You are an absolute freak, Harry. You're mint to watch." Stokes later softened his comparison, clarifying: "Bit harsh on KP actually. Both are freak talents but Brook better IMO is my point." England will continue their series against Sri Lanka with the second T20I in Cardiff on Thursday. The remaining schedule includes the third T20I in Manchester on September 19, followed by three ODIs: September 22 in Chester-le-Street, September 24 in Leeds, and September 27 at The Oval.