Jason Gillespie has hailed Joe Root’s elevation to number one batsman in the world, saying: “The kid’s playing a different game at the moment, and it hasn’t happened by accident.”

Root’s rise was confirmed at the weekend after England’s fourth Test win against Australia at Trent Bridge.

It gave Alastair Cook’s side an unassailable 3-1 lead in a series which concludes at the Oval next week and ensured the Yorkshireman a second Ashes winner’s medal of a Test career which began in late 2012.

The 24-year-old’s international statistics make quite remarkable reading: 2,716 runs from 31 Test matches with eight hundreds to his name, including 443 in the ongoing series with two hundreds at an average of 71.79.

The Sheffield-born right-hander has also scored 2,076 one-day international runs from 59 matches, including six hundreds, and 251 from ten T20s. He averages above 41 in every form of international cricket.

The most impressive statistic, however, comes in the form of 1,761 runs from 16 Tests at an average of 80.04 since being dropped for the final match of the disastrous Ashes series Down Under at the start of last year.

“The hard work and the effort Rooty puts into his game is phenomenal - his continuous striving for improvement, that thirst to be the best he can and to better himself each and every time he goes into the nets,” said Yorkshire coach Gillespie.

“I’m not surprised to be talking about him being the No1 in the world. He earned the right by virtue of his performances.

“I arrived at Headingley in 2012, and he was an opener. He didn’t have the positive intent he’s acquired over the past couple of seasons. He was a bit more of a dogged opener, and the move to the middle order has freed him up.

“He’s just grown into first-class cricket and learned about his own game.

“That’s one thing he’s done really well, and I know he had a lot of conversations with Martyn Moxon and Paul Farbrace.

“They talked about having a look-to-score mentality, and he’s really taken that on board and worked hard. He now gets in better positions to play both attacking and defensive shots.”

Root played a small but significant role in Yorkshire’s LV= County Championship title success last season, captaining them three times.

He even lifted the trophy at Trent Bridge last September with Andrew Gale banned for the last two matches of the campaign.

This season, he has only played one NatWest T20 Blast match, displaying his skills against the white ball with an inventive 55 off 39 balls in a defeat to Lancashire at Headingley in early June.

“I think a real feature is how quickly he is adapting and learning in all three formats of the game,” added Gillespie.

“Does that surprise me? Well, it does and it doesn’t in that he’s always striving to be better and always seeking improvement.

“He always asks coaches ‘tell me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear. Give me completely honest feedback, even if it’s something I need to work on’.

“He’s brutally honest in his appraisal of his performances, and that’s part of the reason why he learns and adapts so quickly.”