New Delhi: Former England captain Michael Vaughan called England batter Joe Root as greatest batter following his 34th Test century against Sri Lanka in the ongoing second Test at Lord’s.
After smashing 143 in the first innings to power England past 400, Root scored 103 to help the Three Lions put on 251 in the second innings. This was the first time in his career of 145 Test matches that Root scored back-to-back hundreds in the same Test match.
In doing so, the Yorkshire player surpassed former England captain Sir Alastair Cook’s tally of 33 Test centuries to become England’s most centurion against the red ball. Hailing Root’s batting technique, cricket pundit Michael Vaughan, who played 82 Tests from 1999 to 2008, called the England No.4 greatest to play the game.
“It’s not been through crash, bang, wallop. It’s been through pure technique and ability. He is the greatest because he’s a wonderful role model as well. He’s a fantastic person and a great player,” Vaughan told BBC Test Match Special.
Alastair Cook hails Root’s inevitability in Tests
Apart from breaking Cook’s record for most Test centuries by an England batter, there were a few more records bettered by Root during his classic knock against Sri Lanka on Saturday.
This was the seventh Test century for the former England skipper at Lord’s. He went past Graham Gooch and Michael Vaughan’s record of six centuries each at the ‘Home of Cricket’.
Root became fourth batter to score hundreds in both innings at Lord’s, joining the likes of West Indies’ George Headley (1939), Graham Gooch (1990), and Michael Vaughan (2004). The star England batter also entered the list of top 10 players with most Test centuries, which is dominated by Indian great Sachin Tendulkar (51).
Alastair Cook compared Root with other England batting greats such as Vaughan and Ian Bell, who is the current batting coach of Sri Lanka on their England tour.
“I don’t think anyone else has got that inevitability about him when he gets in that he’s going to score runs and make it look as easy as he does,” said Cook.
“There have been some really elegant England batsmen over our time – the likes of Michael Vaughan and Ian Bell. But Root just seems to be way above that level,” he added.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan called England batter Joe Root as greatest batter following his 34th Test century against Sri Lanka in the ongoing second Test at Lord’s. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
