Harry Brook's Great Innings Draws Comparison to Kevin Pietersen
Listen to the story
England batter Harry Brook has been compared to former star Kevin Pietersen after a stunning innings against Sri Lanka. Fans and experts say his batting reminded them of Pietersen's famous style.
Brook and teammate Jos Buttler produced an encore of the fast, exciting batting they showed in an earlier match in Southampton. In that game, both players scored quickly and impressed everyone.
In a previous match, Sri Lanka's captain Asalanka won the toss and chose to ask England to bat first. England went on to score 254 runs in their innings.
Now, the two teams are playing again in Cardiff, and Asalanka faces the same important decision. He must choose whether to bowl first or ask England to bat again.
The choice at the toss can be very important in cricket. It often affects how the whole match will go, especially depending on the weather and pitch conditions.
Vocabulary10 words
- compared
- said that two things are similar
- stunning
- extremely impressive or surprising
- encore
- a repeat of something great that happened before
- captain
- the leader of a sports team
- toss
- a coin flip used to decide who bats first in cricket
- bat
- to take a turn hitting the ball in cricket
- innings
- the period when one team is batting
- blitz
- a period of very fast, aggressive play
- knock
- an individual batting performance in cricket
- former
- someone who used to hold a position in the past
Quiz
Answer key
1. Because of a stunning batting innings 2. England scored 254 runs 3. Whether to bat or bowl first after the toss
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
England batter Harry Brook has been _____ to former star Kevin Pietersen after a stunning innings against Sri Lanka. Fans and experts say his batting reminded them of Pietersen's famous style.
Brook and teammate Jos Buttler produced an _____ of the fast, exciting batting they showed in an earlier match in _____. In that game, both players scored quickly and impressed everyone.
In a previous match, Sri Lanka's captain _____ won the toss and chose to ask England to bat first. England went on to score _____ runs in their innings.
Now, the two teams are playing again in _____, and Asalanka faces the same important decision. He must choose whether to bowl first or ask England to bat again.
The choice at the toss can be very important in cricket. It often affects how the whole _____ will go, especially depending on the weather and pitch conditions.
Discussion questions
- Why do you think comparisons between cricketers, like Brook and Pietersen, are common in sports media?
- How important do you think the toss decision is in cricket matches?
- Have you ever watched a cricket match? What did you think of it?
- Why might repeating a great past performance, like an 'encore', be exciting for fans?