Not long after Travis Head brought up his 13th Test century in Gqeberha, Harry Brook moved to his fourth ODI century in Rawalpindi. Split by 9000km, the two standout candidates for the crown of the planet's best all-format batter were putting in the work.
Naturally, conversation flowed. Head's impact on Australia's World Test Championship, ODI World Cup and Ashes successes perhaps has him as the clubhouse leader in that pub debate. Later on Tuesday, Brook returned serve by converting his 16th international hundred into England's first ODI double-century.
Both knocks, however, ended as footnotes in dramatic defeats. South Africa triumphed in the second Test, overcoming Australia and the weather. Sri Lanka's battles against England and the odds were won right at the death, toppling a target of 430 to pull off the second-highest run chase in ODI history.
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Brook's 202 made him the only player to measure up to Chris Gayle's holy trinity of possessing a Test triple, 50-over double (Brook's the fastest, at 114 deliveries) and T20I hundred. He now also has the ignominy of standing out as the only double-centurion to finish on the losing side in an ODI.
Key contributions from Pavan Rathnayake, Avishka Fernando, Dasun Shanaka and, most remarkably, Janith Liyanage, who struck the winning six off the penultimate ball of the match, as well a whole lot of guts took Sri Lanka to glory. In doing so, they did not just rain on Brook's parade, but wash it out completely.
"Unfortunately, it doesn't mean anything now," Brook said of his truly remarkable innings during the post-match presentations. "Being on the losing side, it has absolutely no value whatsoever."
Brook could not hide his despair in a rollercoaster day-night match. No sooner had he set a new standard with everything in his control, he was out there for another 50 overs as night fell, powerless as his bowlers served up full toss after long half-volley. Not that he is entirely absolved from blame of course. You wonder just how much England missed Adil Rashid, and how big a part Brook played in his axing for Liam Dawson, even if Rashid looked short of his usual zip in Tuesday's defeat to Pakistan at this venue.
On the other side of the ledger, Sri Lanka skipper Kusal Mendis was beaming, having gone wild in the dressing room with his team-mates and coaches after such a historic moment. Personally, he could not have had a worse day.
It began with the decision to drop his own legspinner Sachindu Colombage - not only Sri Lanka's best spinner in their series in England last month, but also having twice had the better of Joe Root (who waltzed freely to 69 in Rawalpindi). As keeper, Kusal occupied a ringside seat for England's onslaught, failing to stitch together a fifth bowling option. Kusal was then run out for a duck without facing a ball. Just like his opposite number, Kusal's own part in the game became redundant with the result, and he will be glad for it.
Brook may not want to dwell on his milestone - publicly at least - but there probably is no better holder of England's first ODI double. A one-of-a-kind talent who even Root reckons may leave him in the dust once it's all said and done. A world-class operator who has scored all six of his limited-overs centuries (two in T20Is, both this year) as captain.
Brook's 202, if only for a couple of hours, was comfortably the loudest statement in what has been a quietly impressive 2026. He is averaging over 45 across all three formats - from more than 10 innings in each - with ODIs now comfortably the highest (56.70) after this boosting knock.
He preached the need to attack after a tentative opening defeat to Pakistan and led from the front batting first, with a bloodlust for scoring that looked to have bought insurance for England's attack when the dew arrived.
His wagon wheel illustrating his 31 boundaries looks like a spider's web, in part because of ludicrous shots over his own shoulder. Somehow, he found nine fours and three sixes between third and fine leg with an array of dexterous ramps, three of which were adjusted with third brought up in the circle, the last of them taking Brook past 150. He went from 100 to 200 in the space of 39 balls, breaching the landmark with a "conventional" guided scoop off Liyanage having shuffled outside off stump.
After a correction of their 50-over form, with six wins out of nine heading into the tri-series, an 87-run defeat and giving up a target of 430 will be spun as a useful jolt for a team looking to hit next year's World Cup hard. In the longer-term, what does a day like this mean for Brook himself?
We are at the beginning of a huge 18 months for the 27-year-old. Following this series, he will oversee a white-ball tour of Australia before rejoining the ranks for a three-match Test series against South Africa.
Then comes two Tests against Bangladesh, the 150th anniversary exhibition against Australia at the MCG, then a home summer starting with a one-off meeting with Bangladesh before the Ashes. He will then pick the reins back up for that World Cup in South Africa and, at the start of 2028, play a five-Test series in India, having missed what would have been his first in 2024 following the passing of his grandmother. It is a legacy-defining run that will require a lot of mental and physical plate-spinning, both of which will have wobbled after this defeat.
While his double-hundred sets him up well in any confected individual battle with Head, there are cues to take from the left-hander when it comes to performing on the biggest stages and balancing all codes. Peculiarly, Brook has scored five emphatic white-ball centuries since the last of his 10 Test hundreds, against India at the Kia Oval in August 2025. His 20 Test innings since have been littered with missed opportunities.
This match will go down as another chance spurned - not just to get off the mark in the tri-series but afford Brook the room to be rightly celebrated.
Plenty criticise him for not making the most of his generational talent. This time, it was England who wasted it.