Brook eager to learn from Pietersen after 114 in first T20I against Sri Lanka

England captain Harry Brook scored 114 from 49 balls in the first T20I against Sri Lanka on September 16, 2026, and said he was keen to learn from Kevin Pietersen, who was in his first match as England's specialist white-ball mentor.

Brook's century made him the third captain to record multiple T20I hundreds, after Rohit Sharma and Babar Azam.

England have added former star batter Pietersen to Brendon McCullum’s coaching group, with the ex-international set to work alongside the team as they prepare for next year’s 50-over World Cup in southern Africa.

Brook spoke highly of Pietersen's presence in the dressing room. "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."

He said he hoped Pietersen could influence his career beyond the white-ball game. "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."

"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," Brook added. "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."

Brook made the comments after England's win; the second T20I between England and Sri Lanka will be played on September 17.