4 players who averaged the highest for their sides in four or more consecutive Test series

England played four full-fledged series in the last twelve months, two were away, in India and Australia and the other two were at home, against South Africa and West Indies.

Remarkably, Root averaged the highest among Englishmen in all the four series and thus equalled the English record set by Sir Len Hutton in the early 1950s. Here we will look in detail at the batsmen who achieved this feat in four or more consecutive series. (Only players who played all the matches of the series have been considered)

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#1 Joe Root

Against India (2016-17): England toured India in 2016-17 and played five Test matches in which Root scored 491 runs at an impressive average of 49. Though England lost the series 4-0, Root's batting was a positive. Liam Dawson averaged 66 in the series but he played only one of the Test matches.

Against South Africa (2017): A four-Test series at home in which Root once again excelled. England won the series by a margin of 3-1 and Root scored 461 runs at an average of 58. He scored 20% of England's runs in this series.

Against West Indies (2017): Once again Root scored heavily. He amassed 268 runs at an average of 67 from the three Test matches. Chris Woakes averaged higher but he played in only one of the matches.

Against Australia (2017-18): A forgettable Ashes series for England and Root. The team lost the series 0-4 and Root, despite crossing 50 on five occasions, couldn't score a century in the series. He still averaged the highest among Englishmen, courtesy his 58 'retired ill' in the second innings of the Sydney Test.

#2 Len Hutton

Len Hutton was one of the greatest opening batsmen of all time

Len Hutton's most glorious days came as an England captain when he led them to Ashes glory in Australia after a 22-year gap. Moreover, raising a few eyebrows, he was the first professional captain to do so.

A few years before that, he announced himself as the most consistent run-scorer in the world. He averaged highest for England in four consecutive series, once again two away and two at home.

Against South Africa (1948-49): This series had a couple of thrilling Test matches and England won them both and by virtue of that, won the five-Test series 2-0. Hutton scored 577 runs in the series at a very impressive average of 64. Cyril Washbrook was second in the average-list with 60.

Against New Zealand (1949): The New Zealand team of 1949 impressed one and all. They played four Test matches and managed to hold on to a 0-0 draw. But Walter Hadlee's men couldn't stop the run-machine named Len Hutton from scoring heavily. He scored 469 runs at an average of 78. Reg Simpson and Cyril Washbrook averaged more but both of them played in only two of the Tests.

Against West Indies (1950): The series marked the rise of West Indian spin duo Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine. The two of them took 59 wickets between them in the four Test matches to inflict a 1-3 defeat on the hosts. However, Hutton scored his runs. His epic 202* helped him get 333 runs from this series, thus putting him at the top of the averages among English batsmen.

Against Australia (1950-51): England, under Freddie Brown, were defeated by Australia in a convincing manner. The English batsmen had no clue against Jack Iverson's mystery spin and even though Hutton too took some time to pick him, he got back to his fluent best once he was able to sort out Iverson. Hutton scored 533 runs which was close to 30% of all what England could score in the series. His average of 89 was 50 higher than the next best average.

#3 Dudley Nourse

Dudley Nourse was the mainstay of South African batting for over a decade

Dudley Nourse had an amazing career for South Africa at a time they rarely won. Nourse's career was interrupted by the Second World War and despite that, he managed to remain a prolific batsman when cricket resumed after the war.

Nourse topped the averages for South African batting in five consecutive series.

Against Australia (1935-36): Clarrie Grimmett and Bill O'Reilly inflicted much misery on the South African batsmen and only Nourse could handle them with ease. He scored over 500 runs at an impressive average of 58. No one else could even average 35 in the series for South Africa.

Against England (1938-39): People remember this series because of the famous timeless Test which was left undecided when the English cricketers had to leave to catch their ship. It was a high-scoring series in which Dudley Nourse amassed over 400 runs at an average of 60.

Against England (1947): When cricket resumed after the war, South Africans were the first team to visit England for a Test series. England won the series easily but three South African batsmen - Alan Melville, Bruce Mitchell and Dudley Nourse - scored heavily. The latter topped the averages.

Against England (1948-49): England won the series but Nourse did no harm to his reputation as a prolific run-scorer. He was approaching 40 but his ability to score the runs when they mattered the most was not on the wane. Nourse once again scored 500+ runs, at an impressive average of 77.

Against Australia (1949-50): This was a tough series for the South Africans. They found the Australian bowling attack too hot to handle and Neil Harvey seemed to score majority of whatever the South Africans managed to put on the board. Despite that, Nourse batted admirably, scoring 405 runs at 45.

Nourse retired at the end of the next series, against England in 1951. In that series too, he batted well in patches and his series-average was second only to Eric Rowan's.

#4 Brian Lara

Brian Lara was often the lone consistent scorer for the West Indies

Brian Lara's name on this list should not come as a surprise. For a considerable amount of his career, he batted in a team which was not as good. He often scored the big runs with very little support from others barring Shivnarine Chanderpaul. His golden streak started in the 2002-03 season.

Against Australia (2002-03): Australia won the series 3-1 but this series entered the history books when West Indies chased down 418 to win the final Test. Lara scored 533 runs in the series at an average of 67. No other West Indian batsman could even score 300 runs in the series.

Against Sri Lanka (2002-03): This was a two-Test series and resulted in a rare series win for the West Indies. Lara scored 299 runs at an average of 150 in the two Tests.

Against Zimbabwe (2003-04): Another two-Test series and another victory for the West Indies, this time away from home. Lara scored over 200 runs and his average of 56 topped the chart.

Against South Africa (2003-04): One of the many disappointing South Africa tours for the West Indies in that decade. This time they were defeated in all Test matches but even the 3-0 margin was not convincing enough. Lara, though, in some knocks during that tour, was at his very best. He finished with 531 runs at 66, easily topping the averages.

Against England (2003-04): Once again the West Indies were beaten by a 0-3 margin and Lara had a disappointing first three Tests, just scoring 100 runs. In the fourth Test at Antigua, he scored 400*, thus regaining the record for most runs in a Test innings. He ended up with 500 runs at an average of 83.

If the next couple of series go well for Joe Root, he may well surpass all these great names by topping his team's batting average in six consecutive series.