The Albany Gazette - Joe Root: England great conquers final frontier with Ashes ton

Only Sachin Tendulkar is above Root in the all-time Test run-scoring charts and the retired Indian's tally of 15,921 runs appears within reach of the 34-year-old Englishman.

Root's return of 892 runs in 14 Tests in Australia at an average of 35.68 before the current tour was respectable and for his many admirers, his lack of a Test century Down Under was not a huge deal.

But other observers said he had to cross his final frontier, against England's greatest rivals in their own backyard.

Darren Lehmann, Australia's coach when they swept the 2013/14 Ashes series 5-0, said Root needed to break his duck to be considered an "all-time great" alongside Virat Kohli of India, Australia's Steve Smith and New Zealander Kane Williamson.

In reaching his 40th Test hundred off 181 balls at the Gabba on the first day of the second Test, he has done just that.

- 'Generational talent' -

The elegant Root is a throwback to a different era of batting, an orthodox "touch" player who does not need to smash the ball around to score quickly.

Former England captain Alastair Cook hailed him as "England's greatest" and a "genius" when he surpassed his own record tally of 33 Test hundreds for England last year.

Another former skipper, Nasser Hussain, has described him as "England's generational talent" with the bat.

Root played for the same Sheffield Collegiate club as Michael Vaughan, following the ex-England captain into the Yorkshire first team.

Former England spinner Graeme Swann likened the baby-faced batsman to a team mascot when he joined the England set-up in 2012 but Root seized his chance when it came, making a patient 73 from 229 balls against India in the final Test in Nagpur.

He scored a first Test hundred the following year against New Zealand at his Headingley home ground, before making 180 -- a maiden Ashes century -- at Lord's two months later.

Root's form dipped on the 2013/14 Ashes tour of Australia, which ended in a 5-0 whitewash, and he was dropped for the fifth Test in Sydney.

But he responded in style back on home soil with a double hundred against Sri Lanka at Lord's followed by two centuries against India.

Runs have flowed consistently for the Yorkshireman despite concerns at times, now largely forgotten, over his conversion rate -- the number of times a batter scores hundreds after reaching fifty.

Root, who has also taken 73 Test wickets with his spin bowling, succeeded Cook -- the only other England batsman to have scored 10,000 Test runs -- as captain in 2017.

He went on to lead England in more Tests (64) and achieve more wins (27) than any previous skipper but found himself in charge of a struggling team.

He maintained his own standards with the bat during his time at the helm, most strikingly in 2021, when he scored 1,708 runs at an average of 61 and was named Test Cricketer of the Year.

Root's tenure as skipper ended in disappointment in April 2022 following a run of just one win from 17 matches, with Ben Stokes taking charge.

The former captain has proved indispensable under Stokes, regularly reaching three figures after being freed from the burden of captaincy.

Root has occasionally become unstuck while flirting with a more risky style in the ultra-attacking "Bazball" era under Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum.

But he has largely played his own game, with a rare talent to keep the scoreboard ticking over by playing in a classical, relatively risk-free style.

Root's Test batting average is more than 50, the mark of an all-time great, and he remains a mainstay of England's one-day team.

He has a long way to go to catch Tendulkar, but few would doubt his hunger and ability to finish his career right at the top.

(R.White--TAG)