JOE ROOT believes England team-mate Harry Brook has established himself as the best cricketer in the world.

Brook has been in inspired form on the Test tour of New Zealand, hitting back-to-back centuries in Christchurch and Wellington to help his side claim the series 2-0 with one to play.

The 25-year-old now has eight hundreds in his first 23 Tests and averages a remarkable 61.62, the third highest mark of all time among batters with at least 20 innings. A punishing strike-rate of 88.57 per hundred puts him streets ahead of the other names on that list.