Michael Vaughan has already made it clear who he believes is England’s premier batter following the historic first Test victory over Pakistan. Records tumbled in Multan as England, led by Ollie Pope in the absence of the injured Ben Stokes, wrapped up victory by an innings and 47 runs with more than two sessions to spare on day five.

The tourists became the first side in Test cricket history to win a match by an innings after conceding more than 500 runs in the first innings. Meanwhile, Joe Root and Harry Brook dominated the individual milestones. Their partnership of 454, out of a total of 823/7 declared, was England’s highest Test partnership for any wicket and the fourth-highest of all time.

Root’s career-best 262 saw him become England’s highest Test run-scorer, eclipsing Sir Alastair Cook. Meanwhile, Brook’s near run-a-ball 317 was the fifth-highest score by an England batter in Tests. It was also the first triple century by an Englishman in Tests since Graham Gooch’s 333 against India in 1990.

Root, 33, had already established himself as an all-time great, while Brook, 25, again underlined that he is in a similar class to his Yorkshire colleague. Former England and Yorkshire skipper Vaughan knows both, playing alongside Root’s dad, Matt, in club cricket in Sheffield.

He says Root’s class and ability were obvious from an early age and would put him above more destructive players like Brook and England batting legend Kevin Pietersen.

“We now live in a modern world of crash, bang, wallop, where players’ backlifts point towards the sky,” wrote Vaughan in the Telegraph. “It is a modern craze that delivers more power, and I understand it. It works and can be great to watch.

“I love watching Kevin Pietersen or Harry Brook, but give me Root any day of the week. He is the one English batsman whose skill I wish I had, and I hope his method is the one that is passed down through the generations because he has proved you do not need that wide base, baseball-style technique to thrive across the formats.

“Do not forget that he has 16 ODI hundreds to go with the 35 in Tests. Joe’s method is like a vintage car. You see one drive past now, and you still go, ‘Ooh’.

“It will be the same in 50 years’ time when we see a Porsche 911 Carrera as when we see old clips of Joe batting. We will never tire of the Root way, but we might tire of that baseball way.”

Averaging well over 50 in Test cricket, Root has had relatively few lean spells since making his England debut in India in 2012. Vaughan added: “His idea of bad form is averaging 35 for a few games because he is only ever a week away from getting a score.

“He is impervious to major losses of form because his defence is so good, and he has so many ways of scoring. His mindset is attacking, but it is all built on the foundations of a strong defence.”