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Joe Root says Darren Lehmann is "entitled to accidental what helium wants" aft the erstwhile Australia manager claimed the England batter is simply a "rung below" the all-time greats.
Root, 33, is England's starring Test runscorer and volition triumph his 150th headdress successful the bid opener against New Zealand this week.
Lehmann was speaking aft Australia were beaten by India successful the archetypal Test successful Perth, with Virat Kohli making his 30th Test 100 and seventh successful Australia. Root has made 35 Test tons, but ne'er passed 3 figures successful Australia.
"That's the lone happening stopping Joe Root," Lehmann told ABC. "He's a large player, but is helium an all-time great? I don't person him successful that realm."
Root, who has been connected 3 Ashes tours of Australia, volition get his adjacent accidental for a 100 down nether erstwhile England effort to reclaim the urn adjacent winter.
Speaking successful Christchurch, helium told BBC Sport: "My occupation is to people runs, right? To crook up each crippled and effort to bash each I tin retired successful the middle. His occupation is to springiness his sentiment and speech connected the radio."
Lehmann, 54, played 27 Tests for Australia. He was Australia manager for 4 of the Ashes bid Root has played in.
Root was emerging done the ranks erstwhile Lehmann was astatine Yorkshire, with whom helium was overseas subordinate until 2006.
Lehmann volition articulation region broadside Northamptonshire arsenic caput manager for the 2025 season.
"I've not spoken to him for a while," added Root.
"I'll bash my occupation and helium tin bash his job. He's wholly entitled to accidental what helium wants. That's his right."
After his archetypal comments, Lehmann aboriginal wrote connected X: "Just to beryllium wide arsenic determination are a batch of radical who deliberation that I deliberation Joe Root is not a great.
"He is going to beryllium a great, I cognize that and a fantastic ambassador for our game, but needs and helium volition astir apt bash this adjacent Ashes. Get a 100 successful Australia and past nary dispute."
Root passed Sir Alastair Cook successful the archetypal Test successful Pakistan successful October to go England's all-time starring runscorer. With a tally of 12,754, helium sits 5th connected the all-time list, down Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid.
Regularly bracketed alongside Kohli, New Zealand's Kane Williamson and Steve Smith of Australia successful the 'Fab Four' of Test batting, Root has enjoyed the champion signifier of his vocation since the opening of 2022.
In that time, his 3,223 runs are comfortably much than immoderate different subordinate successful Test cricket and includes 12 hundreds.
In Christchurch helium volition go lone the 4th Englishman to scope 150 Test caps, aft his erstwhile team-mates Cook, James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
"It's a batch of fielding, isn't it?" helium said. "It's truly bully to person played arsenic galore games arsenic that and inactive beryllium going.
"In galore ways it feels similar conscionable different game. I've got a batch much to connection this squad and this shirt.
"It volition beryllium bully to effort to commencement the bid good and get america disconnected to a bully start."
The archetypal lucifer of the three-Test bid starts astatine the Hagley Oval connected Thursday (22:00 GMT, Wednesday).
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