Ben Stokes no longer plays for England - but that has not stopped him from rating players who do or did.

Harry Brook is, in many ways, a modern-day Kevin Pietersen. A player with jaw-dropping batting ability who can take any bowling attacking apart and make accessing any part of the ground look routine but also prone to driving fans mad with a daft dismissal.

In Southampton on Tuesday, though, we only saw the best of Brook as he tonked a 42-ball hundred - England's second-fastest in T20Is - against Sri Lanka, with his 10 fours and half a dozen sixes including six boundaries in one over off Dunith Wellalage. The swashbuckling innings was played in front of England legend Pietersen, who has joined head coach Brendon Mc Cullum's white-ball set-up as a mentor, up to and including the 50-over World Cup in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe in late 2027.

And Brook's knock lured Stokes onto social media to say that, in his opinion, the Yorkshireman's ability outstrips that of Pietersen. Stokes wrote: "I don't even think the genius of KP could come close to what Brook has talent-wise. You are an absolute freak, Harry. You're mint to watch." Shortly after, former Test captain Stokes added: "Bit harsh on KP actually. Both are freak talents but Brook is better in my opinion."