Joe backed by Punter to be GOAT

YOU know you are a bit special when that prince of the Pom bashers Ricky Ponting believes you might eclipse Sachin Tendulkar.

- By Simon Mullock

On the day Joe Root became the second-most prolific run scorer in the history of Test cricket, the Yorkshireman was given a stat ovation by 20,000 Lancastrians - and a tribute from Aussie legend Ponting that suggested he has got plenty left in the tank to surpass India's Little Master.

Root put Ponting, Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid in his rearview mirror with a brilliant knock of 150 as England seized control of the fourth Test.