Ben Stokes believes Harry Brook can emulate Virat Kohli's all-format batting dominance after the England youngster again impressed in Pakistan.
Yorkshire batter Brook played a key role as England secured a first Test series victory in Pakistan in 22 years after a nail-biting 26-run victory in Multan on Monday.
The 23-year-old managed only nine runs in the first innings but responded with 109 in the second – the only century of the second Test – to help England to an unassailable 2-0 series lead.
That form comes as no surprise given Brook blasted 153 and 87 in Rawalpindi, with his red-ball international average sitting at an impressive 73.8 from his five innings.
Yet Stokes believes this is only the start for Brook, who he expects to shine across all formats of cricket as he compared the England batter to India great Kohli.
"After the summer he had last year, getting all the big-ups before he made his debut, to come here and put in that kind of performance again was just phenomenal," Stokes told Sky Sports.
"He's one of those rare players that you look across all formats and you can just see him being successful everywhere.
"It's a massive shout, but Virat Kohli is one of those guys where his technique is just so simple and works everywhere. The pressure that he puts back onto opposition is exactly what we're about."
Brook accumulated just 56 runs, averaging just 11.2 across six innings, as England lifted their second T20 World Cup in Australia.
The middle-order batter has impressed in the shortest format for England in his 20 outings, though, with the expectation he will slot into Jos Buttler's side for the 50-over Cricket World Cup in India in 2023.
Stokes does not foresee the pressure impacting the form of Brook, given the comfortable manner in which he stepped into the Test side.
"The expectation on his shoulders coming into this team, because of how good he's been for Yorkshire, was obviously huge," he said.
"But I think that just shows that kind of stuff doesn't really affect him. He's a player whose technique is suited to all three formats, he wants to always look to be putting pressure back onto the opposition, and he's won another game for England.
"[He made a] huge contribution last week, and the hundred he scored here was obviously massive for us in getting that big lead.
"He's a pretty simple lad to captain: he just gets about his business, loves his batting, wants to constantly improve, constantly work on it. He's a pretty easy bloke to have in your dressing room."
Jonny Bairstow's injury offered Brook the chance to take the number-five role for Stokes, with the England Test captain acknowledging he is fortunate to have a wealth of batting talent to call upon.
"We're very, very lucky with the way in which we can replace Jonny, to have Harry coming in, because those two, batting No.5, they both go about it in exactly the same way," he added.
"They bring so much to the team and obviously Harry playing the way he has done at the moment with Jonny not being in the team, unfortunately, it's the best thing you want.
"You want competition for places, you want a strong squad to be able to pick from, and you want those headaches when it comes to the final XI every week, rather than saying 'I'm not sure who we're going to pick, let's pick a name out of the hat.'
"We're definitely not in that situation, and we feel like we've got all bases covered at the moment."
City's Shaw, Keating nominated for Barclays Women's Super League Player of the Season
Despite having her impressive run of form cut short due to injury, Jamaica International and Manchester City striker Khadija Shaw did enough prior to the season-ending surgery, and so it comes as no surprise that she is up for the coveted Barclays Women's Super League Player of the Season award.
Shaw, who recently copped the Football Writers' Association (FWA) Women's Footballer of the Year award, is no stranger to accolades, as she was named 2022-23 Player of the Season for Manchester City, and also pocketed a couple Player of the Month prizes since joining the club in 2021.
In fact, it is Shaw's impressive goalscoring exploit that not only propelled her to being the club's all-time leading striker, but also places City at the summit of the WSL standing, heading into their final assignment away to Aston Villa on Saturday May 18. However, their hope of clinching the title remains on edge, as they have played a game more than second-placed Chelsea.
Both Shaw and goalkeeper Khiara Keating, who has also been nominated for Barclays Women’s Super League Player of the Season award, have impressively helped Gareth Taylor’s side relentlessly pursue a second-ever league title with a string of outstanding displays.
Shaw, 27, has scored 22 goals across 25 appearances in all competitions this term – with 21 of those coming in the WSL. She recently became the Club’s all-time leading scorer with 68 goals – which she has since extended to 72 before a foot injury prematurely ended her season.
Meanwhile, Keating has performed beyond her years in the 19-year-old’s breakthrough campaign for Taylor’s team – playing every league minute in 2023/24.
The England youth international has been an integral part of the best defensive record in the division with City conceding only 14 league goals so far this term. What’s more, outstanding is that Keating has maintained nine WSL clean sheets which is the most so far across the competition.
Shaw's unmatched scoring ability, and Keating's shot stopping exploit resulted in both being placed on the short list for prestigious annual honour, alongside Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Grace Clinton (Spurs), Lauren James (Chelsea), Jutta Rantala (Leicester), Elisabeth Terland (Brighton) and Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal).
IPL: Kohli shines as RCB maintain winning run against Kings
Virat Kohli's superb knock of 92 helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a fourth straight win in the Indian Premier League on Thursday as they kept their playoff hopes alive with a 60-run triumph over Punjab Kings.
Kohli smashed seven fours and six sixes in his 47 balls faced as the Challengers set the Kings a daunting target of 241, with Rajat Patidar also bringing up his half-century and Cameron Green (46 off 27) falling just short of doing so.
The Kings pulled off the biggest run chase in IPL history less than two weeks ago, but their hopes of another comeback were dealt a huge blow when Faf du Plessis took a wonderful over-the-shoulder catch to send Jonny Bairstow packing with Punjab at 71-1.
Kohli's contribution wasn't only limited to the bat, as he produced a stunning run out of Shashank Singh, haring onto the scene to send wickets flying with an underarm throw as Shashank failed to make it back by mere inches.
It was then up to Mohammed Siraj to polish off the Punjab tail, finishing with figures of 3-43 as the Kings fell to back-to-back defeats, keeping them ninth in the standings.
Data Debrief: Kohli leads the way
Having previously claimed the honour in 2016, Kohli leads the way in the race for the 2024 Orange Cap, another impressive innings taking him to 634 runs for the campaign.
Averaging 70.44 with a strike rate of 153.51, Kohli put further distance between himself and Chennai Super Kings' Ruturaj Gaikwad, whose 541 runs put him second in the standings.
Pooran's unbeaten 48 in vain as Head, Sharma lead Sunrisers to dazzling 10-wicket win over Super Giants
Sunrisers Hyderabad hammered Lucknow Super Giants by 10 wickets with more than 10 overs to spare in the Indian Premier League on Wednesday.
Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head struck an unbeaten 167 from the opening partnership to move SRH third in the points table, with LSG unable to come up with any answers to defend their own haul of 165-4.
Head plundered 89 from 30 balls, including eight fours and eight sixes, while Sharma's 75 from 28 had eight fours and six maximums, in an explosive batting display that saw the duo hit 100 inside the powerplay.
Earlier, Lucknow struggled to get going in their innings, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2-12) conceding only singles and shutting down LSG's top order, who scored just 66 in the first 11.2 overs.
Former West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran continued his fine build up to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup with an unbeaten 26-ball 48, as he crafted a 99-run fifth-wicket stand with Ayush Badoni, who was also unbeaten on 55.
Pooran struck six fours and a solitary six, while Badoni's 30-ball knock had nine fours, as the two gave Lucknow a chance, but in the end, it was nowhere near enough.
Data Debrief: Sunrisers pounce again in the powerplay
Sunrisers scored 107 runs in the powerplay. In all of T20 cricket, there have only been seven instances of a team scoring 100 runs or more in the powerplay – SRH have the two top scores, with both coming this year.
Pooran and Badoni's 99-run partnership was LSG's highest for the fifth wicket in IPL, surpassing the previous record of 87 between Deepak Hooda and Badoni. However, it proved fruitless.
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