The Ashes: Joe Root branded 'average' by West Australian newspaper after arriving for England's Test series

The second-highest run-scorer in the history of Test cricket was branded 'Average Joe' by the West Australian newspaper after arriving for England's away Ashes trip.

Joe Root has racked up 13,543 Test runs - only India great Sachin Tendulkar (15,921) has more - but the West Australian focused on his fairly modest record Down Under with their frontpage headline.

Root is yet to score a Test hundred in Australia with his best knock across three tours - two of which he was captain for - the 89 he struck in the 2021/22 series at Brisbane.

Overall, the Yorkshireman averages 35.68 over 14 Tests in the country, significantly down from his career average of 51.29 in 158 matches.

The West Australian went on to describe Root as "a hero in the homeland and a pretender in Australia."