Paul Farbrace believes Joe Root will eventually surpass Sir Alastair Cook to become England 's leading Test match run scorer and best ever player.
After scoring a brilliant 153 against the West Indies in the second Test in Barbados, Root has now made a total 9,875 Test runs for England. That leaves him just over 2,500 runs behind Cook, who scored a whopping 12,472 during his illustrious career.
His century in Barbados was also his 25th in Test cricket, leaving him just eight behind Cook and second on the list of England centurions. And Farbrace, who coached Root during his time as England's assistant coach, believes he will go down as England's greatest ever player.
"I thought yesterday's innings was fantastic," Farbrace told Sky Sports. "I thought his fluency [was there] right from the start, he got a pull away for four and he just looked magnificent.
"I thought he was a bit scratchy to begin with in the previous test in Antigua, but I thought yesterday it really was high quality right from the very start and he looked magnificent throughout.
"I think he's going to prove to be the best [England player ever]. He'll go past Alastair Cook's record as leading Test run scorer for England and I think he will prove to be the best player.
"What you have to understand is not only is he playing fantastically well, but he's also carrying the burden of England's batting and he has done now for quite some time. That's not being unkind to others, there are players who are finding their way and we saw the start of Alex Lees yesterday who started quite nicely.
"I thought Dan Lawrence played the best innings I've seen him play for England yesterday and really justify his selection. There are others in the team who are still finding their feet and for Joe Root to play as well as he has and be as consistent as he has just shows how good a player he is both technically and mentally."
Root eventually fell for 153 on day two, with Kemar Roach getting him out lbw on review. "It was a good, busy innings from Root, but not a chanceless one," former England bowler Jonathan Agnew told the BBC. "He played second fiddle to Lawrence and then Stokes, but was disappointed to get out missing a straight one."
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