England talisman's superb 80 against Sri Lanka elevates him into exclusive club
Root joins Smith among the legends
Modern-day superstars Steve Smith and Joe Root may only be in their mid-20s but the number one and two ranked Test batsmen respectively have already put themselves among the all-time greats of the game.
Root made a typically classy 80 on day one of England's second Test against Sri Lanka, which continues today, and in the process elevated his batting average to a lofty 54.46.
That figure elevates him into 19th position on the list for all-time Test batting averages (minimum 20 innings) – exclusive company indeed for the man tipped to be England's next captain in the five-day format.
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Only three current players are ahead of Root on the averages list – the figure widely regarded as the most accurate barometer of a Test batsman's ability.
One of those is Adam Voges, whose average of 95.50 (just four runs short of the outlier that is Sir Donald Bradman's 99.94) is still somewhat of a statistical quirk given the relative brevity of his Test career to date (15 matches), notwithstanding his phenomenal run of form.
Another is Bangladesh batsman Mominul Haque, who in 17 Tests has made four hundreds and nine fifties to average an even 56, but is still very much in the infancy of his career.
Not so Smith. Australia's Test captain averages a stunning 60.18 after 41 Tests – the sixth-highest Test average in history.
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Root, too, is in his 41st Test, and such a figure is certainly adequate to compare these contemporaries against the legends of yesteryear; Graeme Pollock (60.97) and George Headley (60.83), ranked three and four behind Bradman and Voges, only played 23 and 22 Tests respectively but are universally lauded as all-time greats of the game.
Smith, with 14 hundreds and that average of 60, from almost double the number of Tests that pair played, has established himself as one of Australia's finest batsmen with his unorthodox technique and following his introduction to Test cricket, strangely enough, as a leg-spinner.
Both players spent time in international exile – Root was out of the Test side by the end of England's humiliating five-nil Ashes defeat in 2013-14, before returning 18 months later with a double hundred against Sri Lanka – but each benefited greatly from the time spent honing their craft in the less-pressured first-class arena.
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Today, the pair is regularly mentioned in the conversation of 'who is the world's greatest batsmen?' though they aren't alone; Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Kane Williamson and David Warner are the others mentioned in dispatches.
However another look at the record books shows Paksitani great Younis Khan just three spots below Root, in 22nd position.
Younis's standing is arguably even more impressive, given his average of 53.94 spans across 104 Tests and includes 31 hundreds and 30 fifties.
Only Kumar Sangakkara (ave 57.40 in 134 matches) and Jacques Kallis (55.37 in 166 matches) have higher averages among those to have played more Tests than the 38-year-old Pakistani.