Harry Brook eager to learn from ‘hero’ Kevin Pietersen

England white-ball captain Harry Brook said he is keen to learn from his “hero” Kevin Pietersen after he blasted a 42-ball ton in its first T20I against Sri Lanka in Southampton on Tuesday.

Brook scored 114 not out from 49 balls with 10 fours and six sixes as England piled up 254 for four to beat the visitor by 119 runs to start the series on a winning note.

His knock was watched over by Pietersen, who has joined the white-ball sides as a specialist mentor to work with the players until next year’s ODI World Cup in South Africa.

“Obviously we haven’t had too much time together so far but 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 of Pietersen.

“He always wants to try and look to put the bowlers under pressure, and I’m looking forward to working with him a lot more.”

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“I was actually watching his (Pietersen’s) highlights earlier, funnily enough,” said Brook. “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.”

He added, “That’s not just for white-ball cricket, that’s for Test cricket as well. Hopefully he can have a big impact on my career.

“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.”

(With inputs from AFP)

Published on Sep 16, 2026