Root ‘a rung below’ Smith and Kohli – Lehmann

Former Australia coach Darren Lehmann says Joe Root needs to score a century down under to be considered an “all-time great” alongside fellow batters Virat Kohli of India, Australia’s Steve Smith and New Zealander Kane Williamson.

Root has scored 35 Test centuries – the most for an England batter – but is yet to reach the milestone in an away Ashes series.

He has played 27 innings in Australia, averaging 35.68 and with a highest score of 89.

Lehmann was speaking after Australia were thrashed by 295 runs in the opening Test against India, with Kohli scoring his 30th Test ton overall and seventh in Australia.

“Nope, he is a rung below for that reason,” said Lehmann on ABC Sport, when asked if Root was in the same category.

“They’ve made runs all over the world in difficult conditions against different oppositions, and that’s the only thing stopping Joe Root. I think he’s a great player, but is he an all-time great?

“I don’t have him in that realm. I think you’ve got to make hundreds all around the world. Smith does, Williamson has, Kohli has, [Rohit] Sharma has – I mean they’re world-class players.”

Root, Smith, Williamson and Kohli were branded the Fab Four by former New Zealand batter Martin Crowe in 2014, touting them as the future greats of Test cricket.

Since England’s last Ashes tour, Root has been in sparkling form, scoring 12 hundreds and 11 fifties.

Ben Stokes’ side will look to regain the Ashes, which were drawn in 2023, during the winter of 2025-26.

They begin a three-Test tour of New Zealand on Wednesday (22:00 GMT).