London - Stuart Broad believes England
team-mate Joe Root is the "most complete batsman" he has played
alongside.
Root's commanding and career-best 254
against Pakistan in the second Test at Old Trafford laid the platform for a
mammoth 330-run win that saw England square the four-match series at 1-1
heading into Wednesday's third Test at Edgbaston.
The Yorkshireman is unusual in the present
England set-up in being a key player in all three international formats - Tests, one-day internationals and Twenty20s.
"I think Joe's probably the all-round,
complete player," said Broad, speaking at an event staged by series sponsors
Investec.
"I think in 10 years' time there's no
doubt we'll be sat with a glass of red saying, 'Wow, I'm lucky to have played
with that Root fella -- look at his record in all formats'," the England
paceman added.
"If I had to pick two batsmen to bat
for my life, I'd pick Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott, but I think Joe is
probably the most complete batsman I've ever played with," added Broad.
"He has fewer weaknesses - he's a
fantastic player of spin, a good player of the short ball, a good player of
quick bowling.
"He is a brilliant team-man in the way
he plays and he's got every tempo and every shot in the book."
Broad added: "He's a very rounded guy
and I know he'll be desperately hungry to get another big score next
week."
After a relatively lean start to the
summer, Root's double century in Manchester saw him deliberately avoid certain
strokes.
"For him to rein in his shots slightly
and just say, 'I'm going to bat big', was a great example of how to put the
team first," said Broad.
"He knew that first-innings runs were
going to be vital at Old Trafford and he did it in a no-risk way.
"I think that was one of the best
knocks I've seen for England."
Broad said he was looking forward to
returning to Birmingham's Edgbaston ground, where England have lost only one
Test, against South Africa in 2008, in the last 15 years.
The fast-medium bowler likened the raucous
and partisan support at Edgbaston to that Australia receive at Brisbane's Gabba
ground.
"For us Edgbaston feels very
pro-England. You can't say that about every ground but here it feels like the
whole ground wants England to do well, wants you take wickets," he said.
"Those sort of atmospheres give teams
a huge lift. You only have to look at Australia in Brisbane, there's a reason
they play the first Test there every summer: because the crowd give them such a
lift they don't lose there.
"Edgbaston feels like our Gabba, so to
speak, in the way the crowd roar behind us and I think some of our results
reflect that.
"Probably the most memorable for me was Steven Finn's spell last year -- (dismissing) Michael Clarke and Adam Voges, Mitch Marsh - I remember standing at mid-off as he ran in thinking, 'Wow, the ground is almost shaking here.'"