Former England skipper Nasser Hussain reckons Harry Brook has the shots of former swashbuckling batter Kevin Pietersen and the rhythm and hunger of talismanic batter Joe Root. Brook scored a magnum opus knock of 317 runs off 322 balls in the first innings of the opening Test match against Pakistan at Multan.

The 25-year-old reached his triple-century off 310 deliveries and scored the second fastest triple hundred, which is only behind Virender Sehwag’s 278-ball record against South Africa in Chennai.

The right-hander scored 29 fours and three sixes in his marathon knock. He also added a gargantuan alliance of 454 runs with Joe Root, who scored a majestic knock of 262 runs to continue his purple patch in Test matches.

“You get a run-a-ball fifty maybe in Test cricket, but a triple-hundred at virtually a run a ball is unheard of! It was a phenomenal knock. I saw a tweet actually and I quite agree with it: Harry Brook has the shots of Kevin Pietersen and the rhythm and hunger of Joe Root,” said Hussain on Sky Cricket.

“If you named five of England’s greatest ever players, Pietersen and Root would be in there. He has the ‘flamingo’ shot he plays like Pietersen, plus the Yorkshire grit of Root, and his tempo.”

Hussain recalled Root told him to keep a close eye on Harry Brook, five years ago and the youngster has stood tall at the top level.

“I remember being at The Oval about five years ago and I was about to go up to Headingley for a [T20] Blast game, and Joe said to me, ‘One lad you have to look out for is Harry Brook’. You can see what he saw in Brook. He is beautiful to watch. Brook would have grown up watching Root bat, and now he is out there breaking records with him.”

Meanwhile, Pakistan were 152-6 at stumps on the penultimate day and trail by 115 runs. Ergo, England need four more wickets to register a memorable win at Multan.