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Former Australia batter Darren Lehmann has come under fire from former England captain Michael Vaughan for his comments disparaging star England batter Joe Root. Notably, Lehmann recently claimed that Root is not an all-time great as he is yet to score a century in Australia.
Michael Vaughan slams Darren Lehmann
As Virat Kohli and Steve Smith have scored hundreds all over the world, the former Australia head coach has ranked them above the English star. The remarks, however, did not sit well with Vaughan, who responded to Lehmann's remarks by calling them nonsense and mentioning that Root was on the verge of breaking Sachin Tendulkar's record.
"What a load of nonsense. We're talking about a player that could quite easily – if he stays fit and that back stays strong – surpass Sachin Tendulkar in a few years," Vaughan said on SEN Mornings.
Vaughan added that the way Root is playing, these remarks will surely haunt Lehmann when England come to Australia next year for the Ashes.
"Just because he's not got a hundred here in Australia, this isn't the be-all and end-all. You'd like to come here, and score runs. But he'll come next year in the way that he's playing in this England side now at four – playing the Joe Root way rather than the Bazball way – I've got a sneaky feeling that might come back to haunt Darren next year. He might get a couple of hundreds next year and the way that England are playing, particularly against this Kookaburra ball, I think it’s going to be a great contest," said Vaughan.
Joe Root's stats in Australia
In Australia, Root has amassed 892 runs at an average of 35.68 with nine half-centuries and is yet to reach a century in 27 innings. But since 2021, the standout batter has been in incredible form, becoming England's all-time top run scorer and Test century hitter. He is now in fifth place on the list of Test cricket's top run scorers, and he is only 3144 runs away from becoming the format's all-time top scorer and tying Sachin Tendulkar.
However, Root's career will always be marred by the fact that he failed to get a century in Australia, and he will be itching to move over the setback when he returns for the 2025–2026 season.
