I think Harry Brook is the new Joe Root: Stuart Broad

Harry Brook received massive praise from the legendary Stuart Broad on the sidelines of the first Test between England and Sri Lanka at Old Trafford, Manchester.

After England's young batting sensation, Brook, scored an elegant 56 off 73 balls, with the help of four boundaries, against Sri Lanka on Day 2, Broad compared him to stalwart Joe Root, who is regarded as one of the finest batters in modern-day cricket.

The former England speedster highlighted Brook's ability to capitalise on the deliveries bowled in the off-stump channel and hit them through mid-wicket with power akin to Kevin Pietersen. In terms of composure and consistency, Broad compared Brook to former England Test skipper Root.

“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,” Broad told Sky Sports.

“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 added.

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Coming back to the ongoing fixture, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 236 in their first innings after Dhananjaya de Silva won the toss and opted to bat first. Chris Woakes and Shoaib Bashir were the standout bowlers for England as they bagged three wickets apiece.

In reply, England were in a spot of bother at 67/3, when Brook came out to bat. He stitched a 58-run partnership with Root before adding 62 with Jamie Smith.

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After Brook's dismissal, Smith added another 52 runs alongside Chris Woakes before the seam-bowling all-rounder departed for 25. The wicketkeeper-batter finished the day on 72 not out from 97 balls, with Gus Atkinson for company. The hosts are placed at 259/6, having taken a lead of 23 runs.