Former West Indies captain Brian Lara insists Joe Root can be the man to lead England to ICC Champions Trophy glory next month – hailing the Yorkshireman as one of the very best in the business.

Root will take his place among England’s top order when the Champions Trophy kicks off on June 1, with the host nation taking on Bangladesh at The Oval in their first match of the campaign.

Playing in his second Champions Trophy campaign, Root and co will be keen to make amends for England’s 2013 final defeat against India, when they lost out on a maiden title by just five runs.

And while the 26-year-old’s current strike-rate of 85.56 sees him fall behind AB de Villiers, David Warner and Virat Kohli in the one-day international (ODI) pecking order, he’s got a fan in the form of Lara – widely acknowledged as one of the greatest batsmen of all time.

“Joe Root is one of my favourite batsman. His ability in all forms of the game is very special,” said Lara, speaking at the launch of the ICC Champions Trophy, on Thursday.

“I have played against a lot of English batsmen, and they have that ability to be very correct and do things as they are in the coaching manual.

“Joe has a bit of that, but he also has a lot of flare as well. An English batsman who has that kind of flare, first of all, it’s shocking, but it’s great to watch.

“He is up there as one of the top batsmen in the world. England just have a very good team. Everybody is capable of performing very well, and that is key because you can’t just rely on one or two players to win you a cricket match.”

With less than a week to go until the Champions Trophy gets underway, England go into the tournament as favourites to lift the trophy for the first time in their history.

Currently one of the world’s best sides in the white-ball game, home advantage looks set to play in their favour, and Lara – who won the Champions Trophy with the West Indies in 2004 – can see no other nation standing in their way.

“I think in these conditions, England will be my firm favourites. After losing out to the West Indies in the World Twenty20, you look at the team now and they have some exciting players,” he said.

“England, in the past, would have maybe an Ian Botham or a [Andrew] Flintoff, but now you can look at the entire team and it’s very one-day cricket oriented.

“Today, you look at the England team and you’ve got players playing in the IPL, and players who are astonishing with both the bat and ball.

“It will be tough to beat them in these conditions, but all the teams are playing such good cricket right now.

“Australia, South Africa, India and Pakistan are all playing well, so I expect it to be very, very competitive, but my two pence is going to go on England.”

The ICC Champions Trophy (1-18 June) and ICC Women’s World Cup (24 June – 23 July) will both see the best eight ODI teams in the world compete for glory in England & Wales this summer. Tickets available at icc-cricket.com/tickets