11 February,2021 07:24 AM IST | London | PTI
England skipper Joe Root en route his 218 on Day Two of the first Test against India at Chennai last Saturday. Pic/BCCI
Former England captain Nasser Hussain feels incumbent Joe Root is "arguably" the country's best ever player of spin and can break all the Test batting records accumulated by the nation's batsmen.
Root struck 218 in England's first innings on a spin-friendly pitch to lead his side to a 227-run win over India in the first Test in Chennai on Tuesday.
"Root sure is one of England's greats. He will probably end up breaking all records, he will probably go past Sir Alastair Cook's 161 Test matches and probably tally of runs as well," Hussain wrote in his column for Sky Sports.
"He is in great nick, only 30 years old, and if you did a list of all-time England batting greats - the ones I have seen anyway - you'd have to have Root with Cook, Graham Gooch and Kevin Pietersen. "I would say he is arguably England's best-ever player of spin, the way he sweeps spin away is outstanding to watch."
Hussain, 52, said the massive win against India in their own den was a "perfect performance" and will go down as one of the great England Test wins. "People were writing England off, saying this series could be 4-0 to India. No one really gave this side much of a chance. India had won in Australia, Virat Kohli was back and India is a very difficult place to go and win in Test match cricket.
"So, this win for England has to be right up there, especially away from home. They put in the perfect performance. From ball one to the final delivery, it was outstanding." Hussain felt that England have improved a lot on the road having won six away matches on the trot.
"If you asked Root or Chris Silverwood [coach] right now whether they are the best side in the world they would say no. But they have been the best side they can be. Six away from home in a row, if you go back to South Africa last winter.
"They are starting to answer the right questions about how to improve away from home," said Hussain. The former captain also defended Root for his decision not to enforce the follow-on. "If you are not going to enforce the follow on, then you want to rest your bowlers. Root wanted to make sure they were fresh to go again."
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