“I like simplicity of his technique”: Sangakkara on England’s Harry Brook

Manchester [UK], August 23 (ANI): Legendary Sri Lankan batter Kumar Sangakkara praised young England batter Harry Brook for his “simplicity of technique”, saying that he loves watching the youngster bat.

Coming in at 125/4 while aiming to overcome Sri Lanka’s first innings total of 236 runs, Brook displayed immense maturity, toning down a bit on his naturally aggressive game to amass 56 runs in 73 balls, with four boundaries. His runs came at a strike rate of just over 76, way below his career SR of over 90.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Sangakkara said, “He is such a good player. I love watching him bat, I like the simplicity of his technique and the intent he bats with.”

“It is always about scoring runs and there is nothing complicated in the way he does it.”

Sangakkara also urged Brook to stick to his natural game, noting his great game awareness.

“He has got good awareness about how he wants to play cricket and I think the best thing that can happen for Harry Brook is to be told, ‘just keep batting the way you are, do not get confused with anything else’,” concluded Sangakkara.

Since his Test debut in 2022, Brook has been a key part of England’s ‘Bazball’ approach to cricket, a shift in their gameplay brought by skipper Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum. In 16 Tests and 25 innings, Brook has scored 1,434 runs at an average of 59.75, with a strike rate of over 90. He has scored five centuries and nine fifties, with his best score being 186.

Coming to the match, England ended day two with 259/6, with Jamie Smith (72) and Gus Atkinson (4) unbeaten. Harry Brook (56) and Joe Root (42) also played crucial knocks for England after a shaky start which saw them struggling at 67/3 at one point.

After electing to bat first, SL was 113/7, but knocks from Dhananjaya de Silva (74) and debutant Milan Rathnayake (72) took them to 236 runs. Chris Woakes and Shoaib Bashir took three wickets each for England.