Root Addresses Lehmann’s Comments on “All-Time Great” Status

England batter Joe Root stated that former Australia coach Darren Lehmann is “entitled to say what he wants,” following Lehmann’s assertion that Root is “a rung below” the all-time greats. Root is set to become the fourth Englishman to achieve 150 caps when he participates in the first Test against New Zealand in Christchurch this week. The 33-year-old Root, who holds the record as England’s leading Test run-scorer, will earn his 150th cap in the initial match of the series against New Zealand this week. Lehmann’s comments came after Australia’s defeat to India in the first Test in Perth, a match where Virat Kohli scored his 30th Test hundred and seventh in Australia. While Root has accumulated 35 Test centuries, he has not yet reached three figures in Australia. “That’s the only thing stopping Joe Root,” Lehmann stated to ABC. “He’s a great player, but is he an all-time great? I don’t have him in that realm.” Root, having participated in three Ashes tours of Australia, will have his subsequent opportunity to score a century “down under” when England endeavors to reclaim the urn next winter. Speaking from Christchurch, Root informed BBC Sport: “My job is to score runs, right? To turn up every game and try to do all I can out in the middle. His job is to give his opinion and talk on the radio.” Lehmann, aged 54, participated in 27 Tests for Australia and served as Australia’s coach during four of the Ashes series in which Root played. Root was progressing through the junior ranks at Yorkshire when Lehmann was an overseas player for the county, a role he held until 2006. Lehmann is slated to join the county team Northamptonshire as head coach for the 2025 season. Root further stated, “I’ve not spoken to him for a while.” He continued, “I’ll do my job and he can do his job. He’s completely entitled to say what he wants. That’s his right.” Subsequent to his initial remarks, Lehmann later clarified on X: “Just to be clear as there are a lot of people who think that I think Joe Root is not a great. He is going to be a great, I know that and a wonderful ambassador for our game, but needs and he will probably do this next Ashes. Get a hundred in Australia and then no dispute.” Root surpassed Sir Alastair Cook in the first Test in Pakistan in October, becoming England’s all-time leading run-scorer. With a total of 12,754 runs, he ranks fifth on the all-time list, trailing Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis, and Rahul Dravid. Frequently grouped with Virat Kohli, New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, and Australia’s Steve Smith as part of Test batting’s ‘Fab Four,’ Root has experienced the most prolific period of his career since early 2022. During this period, his 3,223 runs significantly exceed those of any other player in Test cricket, encompassing 12 centuries. In Christchurch, he will be only the fourth Englishman to achieve 150 Test caps, following his former team-mates Sir Alastair Cook, James Anderson, and Stuart Broad. “It’s a lot of fielding, isn’t it?” he remarked. “It’s really nice to have played as many games as that and still be going.” He added, “In many ways it feels like just another game. I’ve got a lot more to offer this team and this shirt.” “It will be nice to try to start the series well and get us off to a good start,” he concluded. The inaugural match of the three-Test series is scheduled to commence at the Hagley Oval on Thursday (22:00 GMT, Wednesday).