Bowling sensation James Anderson feels Harry Brook has all the “attributes” to become England’s leading Test run-scorer by surpassing the iconic duo of Joe Root and Kevin Pietersen and pointed out the quality that would make him the best the Three Lions have ever had.
With his charismatic batting, Brook overshadowed Root’s aura in the Multan Test by slamming a triple hundred and rewriting history books. He dethroned ‘Multan ka Sultan’ Virender Sehwag’s 309 in Multan and bettered it with his 317 off a mere 322 deliveries.
While Brook made the headlines with his swashbuckling triple hundred, Root, on the other hand, became England’s most decorated red-ball cricket by surpassing Alastair Cook to become the nation’s leading Test run-scorer.
After witnessing Brook’s masterclass, Anderson believes the 25-year-old is on the way to becoming one of the top three players that he has played during his illustrious career.
“He’s on the way to being in the top three that I’ve played with. It’s Root, Pietersen and him. He’s definitely got all the attributes to overtake them. He’s just got everything. Without trying to big him up too much because he’s still really early in his Test career, I do think that he’s got the perfect amount of each of those two, and that’s what will make him the best that we’ve ever had,” Anderson said on the Tailenders podcast as quoted from Geo News.
Brook mixed up conventional and unorthodox shots to disrupt Pakistan’s train of thought. With the trademark drives and scoop shots, he made the hosts’ fielders chase the ball towards the boundary rope.
Anderson, who is impressed with Brook’s variety of strokeplay, backed the youngster to destroy a bowling attack if he wanted to. For Anderson, Brook bears a resemblance to Root because of the love that the duo share for batting.
“But he’s got the shots of both Root and Pietersen. He can destroy an attack if he wants to. He can play a longer inning if he needs to. The thing that’s really similar between Root and Brook is that they love batting. They literally couldn’t care less what format it is. They just want to bat,” he added.
“They want to have fun doing it. As much as Brook’s the younger player and will be learning loads from Rooty, I still think Rooty learns from him as well,” he noted.
After England defied the odds and raised the benchmark in Test cricket in the opening Test, the Three Lions will square off against Pakistan in the second Test, beginning on Tuesday, October 15.
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(With inputs from ANI )
