James Anderson believes Harry Brook can become England’s best ever batter, surpassing even new record run-scorer Joe Root.

Brook became the first England man to make a Test triple century for 34 years in the astonishing defeat of Pakistan in Multan.

In the same Test, Root made 262, and in doing so he passed Sir Alastair Cook’s previous England best of 12,472 career runs.

Anderson, England’s greatest ever bowler and leading Test wicket-taker, believes 25-year-old Brook is the ideal blend of Root and another great, Kevin Pietersen.

“He’s on the way to being in the top three that I’ve played with,” Anderson said on his Tailenders podcast. “It’s Root, Pietersen and him. He’s definitely got all the attributes to overtake them.

“He’s just got everything. Without trying to big him up too much because he’s still really early in his Test career, I do think that he’s got the perfect amount of each of those two and that’s what will make him the best that we’ve ever had.”

It is high praise from Anderson, whose haul of 188 Test caps is another England record.

Along with Root and Pietersen, Anderson was also a team-mate of other outstanding England batters like Cook, Alec Stewart, Ian Bell, Michael Vaughan and Graham Thorpe.

Brook has 1,875 runs in 19 Tests and 31 innings. He has a chance to become the fastest Englishman to 2,000 Test runs, beating the 22 matches and 33 innings of the legendary Herbert Sutcliffe in 1928.

Pietersen, perhaps the best three-format batter to ever play for England, had 8,181 runs when his 104-Test career ended in 2014. As a comparison, he had 170 runs fewer than Brook after 19 Tests.

Two new matchups have been added to UFC 309, the pay-per-view card that marks the return of the octagon to Madison Square Garden on Nov. 16.

The company announced Friday that Oban Elliott and Bassil Hafez will face off in a welterweight battle in New York, while Lucas Almeida and David Onama revealed on their social media that they have also agreed to fight on the card.

UFC 309 features Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight throne in the main event. The show is co-headlined by a five-round rematch between lightweight contenders Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler.

Hafez (9-4-1) defeated Mickey Gall this past June in Newark, rebounding from a split decision loss to Jack Della Maddalena in his promotional debut a year before.

Elliott (11-2) looks to go 3-0 in the UFC after a pair of decision victories over Val Woodburn and Preston Parsons this year that improved his pro record to 7-0 since 2022.

Onama (12-2) has won four of six inside the octagon and enters the cage on a two-fight winning streak. He missed weight for his most recent victory, a decision over Jonathan Pearce, and won a Performance of the Night bonus for his previous knockout against Gabriel Santos.

Almeida (15-3) had his hands raised via decision when he most recently fought in the UFC, beating Timmy Cuamba after three rounds to bring his UFC record to 2-2.

MARC Cucurella believes English crowds and referees are out to get him – after his exploits at Euro 2024.

The Chelsea full-back helped Spain to a 2-1 win over Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions in July’s Euros final.

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Cucurella proved to be a divisive figure in the Spanish camp during their run to glory.

German fans roundly booed him throughout the knockout stages after a penalty incident in the quarter-finals.

The 26-year-old began the Euros being branded Spain’s “weak link” by Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville.

But he had the last laugh, being named in Uefa’s Team of the Tournament and assisting Mikel Oyarzabal’s dramatic late winner against England.

Video of Cucurella singing during Spain’s raucous celebrations quickly went viral after taming the Three Lions.

He stood on top of a table, serenading his teammates with a fan song about drinking beer and besting Man City striker Erling Haaland.

Since returning for the new season, Cucurella has made just seven appearances for Chelsea.

He has picked up five yellow cards in the process – as well as receiving plenty of lip from the terraces – leaving him convinced the English game holds a grudge.

The Blues star told Spanish outlet COPE: “You have more impact – people know you more [after winning the Euros].

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“Being champion of the Euros is historic and you will always take it with you.

“I’ve already been suspended for five yellow cards and I’ve committed [only a] few fouls.

“They’re going after me a bit. They jump on me quickly, especially when we play away.

“It’s normal, we won, I was involved in the goal, I’m playing at their home.

“It’s normal, they’re hurt.”

Cucurella began his career at Barcelona, but failed to break into the first team at the Nou Camp.

He forged a career at Getafe before moving to the Premier League in 2021 to join Brighton.

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His lightning-fast counter-attacks and flowing locks made him an instant cult hero on the South Coast.

And the Seagulls made a huge profit on the full-back as Chelsea swooped with a £55million offer in August 2022.

Cucurella picked up his most recent booking in Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest.

He will now miss the Blues Premier League clash with Liverpool on October 20.

Pace bowling was crucial to England’s unprecedented 3-0 series win here two years ago. Whereas the spinners on the opposing sides were well-matched, the touring seamers comfortably outperformed Pakistan’s – 26 wickets at an average of 23.2 compared to 11 at 62.7.

England’s new-look pace attack was a concern going into this first Test, yet they performed well, especially in reducing Pakistan to 59-5 in the second innings.

Brydon Carse is the third pace bowler to make his Test debut since July, as England build their Ashes-focused attack. The Durham man might well have got his cap in the home summer had he not been serving a ban for historic gambling offences.

In Multan, Carse did a decent imitation of his Durham team-mate Mark Wood, who is absent injured. In taking four wickets, as well as having one chalked off by DRS and a dropped catch, Carse averaged 85.2mph, bending his back to bowl 42% of his deliveries as bouncers.

As a comparison, on the last tour, Wood averaged 88.7mph and sent down half his deliveries as bumpers.

It can be frustrating to see England using bowlers of high pace only as battering rams – Jamie Overton, Olly Stone and Josh Tongue have had similar treatment – but sometimes needs must.

In the right conditions, Wood is given licence to show his considerable skills and the hope is Carse will one day get the same opportunity. Either way, England like him, and he only enhanced his reputation in Multan.

The UFC has superstars who seem to never fight, and one who seems to always fight.

Light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) was back at it again for a record third title defense in 175 days – all since April – when he took out Khalil Rountree (14-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) in the fourth round. The pair headlined UFC 307 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City this past Saturday, and though Pereira was tested, he eventually broke Rountree down and took him out to continue his ascension as one of the UFC’s most popular fighters.

Plus, Julianna Peña recaptured the women’s bantamweight title after a two-year layoff, Kayla Harrison got her second UFC test and Court McGee, Ryan Spann, Joaquin Buckley and Roman Dolidze picked up key finishes.

Check out all the highlights in super-slow motion in the UFC 307 “Fight Motion” video highlights above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.