England's Joe Root can become all-time cricket great, insists Trevor Bayliss

Stellar career: Root averages 56 in 44 Tests
(Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
Tom Collomosse26 July 2016

Joe Root has the talent to become one of the finest batsmen in the history of the game, according to England coach Trevor Bayliss.

Root made a career-best 254 as England defeated Pakistan at Old Trafford, the latest achievement in a stellar international career that began in December 2012. He averages 56 in 44 Tests, with 10 centuries and 21 fifties.

“When he bats, he is hard to tie down,” said Bayliss.

Root, 25, is a key man for England in all three forms of the game and has already risen to the top of the Test batting rankings, though he is currently second.

As coach of Sri Lanka, Bayliss worked with Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jaywardene, two of the best of the modern era.

In his native Australia, Bayliss played alongside the Waugh twins, Mark and Steve, and witnessed the rise of Ricky Ponting.

He believes Root is in the same class. “He is — definitely,” Bayliss told Standard Sport. “He is probably very close right now. He is as good as any of them and thankfully for England, he is pretty much at the start of his career.

“You bowl good balls to him but he is still able to rotate the strike. He doesn’t face a lot of dot balls. He is difficult to get out and puts the bad ball away, it’s pretty simple stuff.

“Now that he is batting at No3, it means that if we can get off to a good start, it gives a bit more latitude to the batsmen with a bit less experience. If they come in when we have plenty of runs on the board, it allows them the freedom to go out and play their natural games.”

Root was named man of the match at Old Trafford after also scoring 71 not out — from only 48 balls — in the second innings as England delivered an emphatic 330-run win. His efforts vindicated the decision to promote him from No4 to No3 in the order.

The four-match Investec Series is level at 1-1, with the Third Test at Edgbaston starting on August 3.

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