Root stat shows he has left Kohli and others in the shade in last 18 months

Joe Root scored his 27th Test match hundred against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, continuing his brilliant run of form since the start of 2021 which has seen him score ten centuries in just 18 months

Joe Root has been in a glorious run of form over the past 18 months and has now notched back-to-back centuries in the ongoing series against New Zealand.

At Lord’s, Root scored a brilliant 115 not out in the second innings to guide England to victory and he has now followed that up with a stunning 176 at Trent Bridge. Root has long been compared to Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson, with the quartet being dubbed “Test cricket’s young Fab Four” by former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe in a prophetic column for ESPNcricinfo in 2014.

At the time, none of them had been ranked as the best batter in the world by the ICC. However, Crowe proclaimed: “All four will go on to captain their countries.

“All four will reach peak form in a few years’ time, and then the real battle will commence as to who will be the No. 1 batsman in the world. My sense is that they will all take turns as the No. 1 Test batsman.”

And while his prediction could not have been more accurate, Root has been on a different level to the other three over the last 18 months. At the start of 2021, Kohli, Smith and Williamson had scored 27, 26 and 24 Test hundreds respectively while Root had made just 17.

However, Root has since notched a stunning ten Test centuries to move up to 27, while Kohli, Smith and Williamson have made just one between them. That hundred was scored by Smith and came against India in the first full week of January 2021.

And Root has also been lauded as England’s greatest ever player, having moved up to 12th on the list of all-time leading Test run scorers. “We’re witnessing something special,” former England captain Michael Vaughan told BBC Test Match Special.

“I’ve known Joe for years and I really do believe he’s England’s greatest player. He’s such a joy to watch and he makes batting look so easy.

“It’s just that drive and determination. You’ve got to have an incredible appetite to just keep on scoring centuries.”