Ben Stokes hails Joe Root as 'GOAT' ahead of Manchester clash

The much-anticipated fourth Test between England and India is set to begin today, July 23, at Old Trafford in Manchester. With a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, England will be aiming to seal the series with a win on home soil. Ahead of the crucial match, England skipper Ben Stokes has showered praise on veteran batter and former captain Joe Root, labelling him as the "greatest of all time."

Root, already England's leading run-scorer in Test cricket, currently sits fifth on the all-time list with 13,259 runs from 285 innings. He is now just 119 runs shy of overtaking former Australian legend Ricky Ponting, who scored 13,378 runs in 287 innings. Sandwiched between Root and Ponting on the list are Indian great Rahul Dravid (13,288) and South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis (13,289).

Speaking to the reporters ahed of the Manchester Test, Stokes kept it short and powerful when talking about Root’s greatness: “Yeah, sometimes with those, less is more, maybe? I don’t need to say anything else other than he’s just the absolute G.O.A.T.”

While Root’s immediate task will be to help England close out the series against India, attention is already shifting to his performances in the upcoming Ashes series. Root has never scored a Test century in Australia despite touring there multiple times, and that record has drawn attention from former Australian coach Darren Lehmann.

Speaking to ABC Sport, Lehmann said: “Joe Root is a great player, but is he an all-time great? He’s had (three) goes in the Ashes (in Australia), hasn’t made a hundred,” he pointed out. “He is a rung below (Steve Smith, Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson) for that reason.”

“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 in that upper echelon? I don’t have him in that realm. I think you’ve got to make hundreds all around the world. Smith does, (Kane) Williamson has, Kohli has – I mean they are world-class players,” Lehmann concluded. 

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