Former England skipper Nasser Hussain believes Joe Root getting a century in Australia should be the next big goal for him in Test cricket, adding that achieving it would give tons of satisfaction to right-handed batter, who recently hit a record 34th ton.

After making 143 in the first innings, Root, 33, surpassed Sir Alastair Cook’s tally of 33 Test tons by scoring 103 – his second century of the match at Lord’s. Root is also just 96 runs from surpassing Cook’s tally of 12, 472 Test runs for England.

“He’s the greatest England batter I have seen, for so many different reasons. At the end of his career, it would be nice for him to sit there and think ‘I got a hundred in Australia’ – that, for him, I think would give him a lot of satisfaction. But right now, are we watching England’s greatest-ever batter? I would say yes,” said Hussain on Sky Sports Cricket ahead of day four’s play.

In 27 Test innings in Australia, Root is yet to score a century, with his highest score being 89. Mel Jones, former Australia women’s player, feels it will be tough for the Pat Cummins-led side to stop Root from making big runs in Tests, including that elusive hundred Down Under. “Don Bradman never got a hundred in India, but you don’t take away his greatness because of that one small factor of his game.”

“For Australians, they will hang onto (Root not scoring a century in Australia) for as long as possible, but I think they’re also looking at his form since 2021 when he’s averaging 61. I think they’re probably also sitting back thinking it’s going to be tough to because of the form he’s in.”

Michael Vaughan, former England captain, lavished rich praise on Root’s method to get runs consistently, on BBC Test Match Special, ahead of day four’s play. “t’s not been through crash, bang, wallop. He is the greatest because he’s a wonderful role model as well. He’s a fantastic person and a great player.”

“The opposition pretty much always have to have four fielders behind square on the off side because he’s just so good. You take away four fielders and all of a sudden there are gaps everywhere else. He’s just playing normally, rotating the strike without taking any risk. How often do you look up and he has scored 25 in no time at all?”