Root backs his predecessor Cook to 'smash every record'

Johannesburg [South Africa], Feb. 16 (ANI): Joe Root, who has replaced Alastair Cook as England's new Test captain, has backed his predecessor to "smash every record going". Root, earlier this week, was handed over England's captaincy in Test format, succeeding Cook, who stepped down as Test captain after a record 59 matches in charge. Cook, who managed seven hundreds in his first 11 Tests as skipper, couldn't continue with his sublime form and scored only five in his last 48. "It's going to be a great help, having that experience and advice around the dressing room," Root was quoted as saying by Sport24. "I think he's looking forward to the opportunity to just go and bat, hopefully he's going to smash every record going," he added. The 26-year-old Yorkshire batsman further said that he would like to see Cook enjoy his batting and go on and break every record going. Cook is currently England's most prolific Test batsman with 11,057 runs in 140 matches till date, and Warne believes he could surpass some of the best batsmen to ever play the game. The 32-year-old, who was appointed as the captain in August 2012, is England's most capped Test skipper so far, having led the side to Ashes victories at home in 2013 and 2015 as well as series wins in India and South Africa. The opening batsman also led the one-day side for 69 matches between 2010 and 2014, which is another England record. Root will have a full four months of preparation before England's next Test series against South Africa in July. (ANI)