Former Pakistan international Ramiz Raja has described Joe Roots batting display in the second Test at Old Trafford as a masterclass. Root joined England skipper Alastair Cook early on day one against Pakistan and remained in the middle for almost 10-and-a-half hours as he notched a Test-best 254 - the highest Test score at Old Trafford for 52 years.The Yorkshireman hit 27 boundaries in his 406-ball innings before Mohammad Hafeez took an excellent diving catch to dismiss him shortly before England declared on 589-8. It was precision-driven [from Root]. There was a lot of method and his footwork was great, Raja told Sky Sports. Root hit three sweeps a row for four as he raced towards 250 I enjoyed the way he used the crease and read the length properly. It was not about playing forward on this pitch but hitting the ball crisply off the back foot.There was some great shot-making and it was a great innings. It really was a masterclass from him. Joe Roots career-best 254 put Pakistan firmly on the rack on day two of the second Test at Old Trafford Root has excelled for England in all formats of the game and Raja is impressed by the 25-year-olds determination to cement himself as a Test great.He wants to be recognised as a great Test match player, which is rare in my part of the world in Asia where they are all gearing up to play T20 cricket to become overnight heroes, Raja added. Root roars in celebration upon reaching his second double ton Heres a guy who is interested in playing five-day cricket and plays it with the right heart, with great pace and great tempo, which can be difficult.To rein yourself in like he did and make sure you remain out there for the larger cause of the team was something absolutely magnificent from him. Joe Root was our pick for player of the day after his 254 put England in a commanding position after day two of the second Test against Pakistan Root was pushed up the order to number three ahead of the Test series with Pakistan and former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding expects Englands best batsman to remain there.He said: Ive always thought the best player in your team bats at number three, the one with very good technique but also one that can score freely because he can then adapt to whatever happens.If he gets in there at 0-1 or 100-1 he knows exactly what he needs to do and is capable of doing either. I think Joe Root is the best batsman in this team. He should always be at three and I dont think he will be moving now.Live coverage of day three gets underway at 10.30am on Sunday on Sky Sports 2. Also See: Root puts Pakistan on rack WATCH: Story of Day Two Roots best hundreds Sky Cricket Podcast Clearance Soccer Jerseys . 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The 24-year-old has seven goals and 17 assists in 132 career NHL games, all coming with the Lightning. He was selected in the second round, 47th overall, of the 2007 draft.Wimbledon, England (SportsNetwork.com) - Australian Open champion Li Na, former Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova and former world No. 1s Victoria Azarenka and Venus Williams posted first-round victories on opening day at The Championships, Wimbledon. The second-seeded Li bested Polands Paula Kania, making her WTA-level debut, 7-5, 6-2 on the famed Centre Court, while the sixth-seeded 2011 Wimbledon winner Kvitova cruised past fellow Czech Andrea Hlavackova 6-3, 6-0, and the eighth-seeded Azarenka handled 32-year-old Croat Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-3, 7-5 on No. 1 Court at the venerable All England Club. The 32-year-old Li has reached at least the semifinals at all of the majors except for Wimbledon, where shes a three-time quarterfinalist, including last year. Her second-round opponent will be Austrian Yvonne Meusburger. The left-handed Kvitova has reached at least the quarterfinals here four straight years and will meet German Mona Barthel on Wednesday. Azarenka fought to get past the 1999 Wimbledon semifinalist Lucic-Baroni, winning on her fifth match point. The Belarusian struggled with her serve, with eight double faults, but made the most of her opponents 29 unforced errors. The two-time Australian Open champion just returned to tour action last week after being sidelined with a foot injury for three months. Monday marked her first match win since the fourth round at the Aussie Open in January. Azarenka reached back-to-back Wimbledon semifinals before pulling out of her second-round match here a year ago because of an injury. Next up for the Belarusian star will be Serbian Bojana Jovanovski. The 30th-seeded Williams picked up her first Wimbledon win in three years with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Spaniard Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor. The 34-year-old Williams owns seven major tiles, including five Wimbledon crowns, and shes now 72-11 lifetime at Wimbledon. Her second-round opponent will be Japans Kurumi Nara. Tenth-seeded Australian Open runner-up Dominika Cibulkova, of Slovakia, whipped Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak 6-1, 6-2 on Centre Court; 12th-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta drubbed Slovak Jana Cepelova 6-2, 6-3; oft-injured former U.S. Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer, who has been working with fellow Belgian and former world No. 1 star Kim Clijsters, dropped 17th-seeded former U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur 6-3, 6-4; and Russian Maria Kirilenko doused 18th-seeded American Sloane Stephens 6-2, 7-6 (8-6). Stosur struggles mightily on grass, having suffeered six first-round exits in 12 trips to the All England Club and never advanced beyond the third round here.dddddddddddd Stephens saved five match points against Kirilenko before play went to a second-set tiebreak. Stephens had reached at least the fourth round at the last six Grand Slam events, including a run into the Wimbledon quarterfinals last year. Stephens is still a solid 31-13 at the majors, but a pedestrian 55-54 everywhere else. In other action involving seeds, No. 22 Russian Ekaterina Makarova overcame 43-year-old Japanese Kimiko Date-Krumm 3-6, 6-4, 7-5; No. 23 Czech Lucie Safarova edged out German Julia Goerges 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-3); hot American Coco Vandeweghe converted on her 13th match point in taking out No. 27 Spaniard Garbine Muguruza 6-3, 3-6, 7-5; and No. 32 Russian Elena Vesnina took care of Austrias Patricia Mayr-Achleitner 6-0, 6-4. Vandeweghe corralled her first-ever WTA title, on grass, in The Netherlands just two days ago. Muguruza shocked Serena Williams in the second round at the French Open last month. Several other women advanced, including Meusburger, Jovanovski, Barthel, Nara, Aussie Casey Dellacqua, and American Lauren Davis. Rain forced the suspension of some action, as fourth-seeded 2012 Wimbledon runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska was leading Andreea Mitu 4-2; 14th-seeded former French Open runner-up Sara Errani was tied with Frances Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-7 (3-7); 16th-seeded former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki was ahead of Israeli Shahar Peer 6-3, 2-0; and Portuguese Michelle Larcher de Brito was leading 28th-seeded two-time Grand Slam winner Svetlana Kuznetsova 2-1 when rain started to fall just after 8 p.m. local time. The current world No. 1 Serena will open her fortnight Tuesday against Georgian Anna Tatishvili. The American great is a 17-time major champion, including five Wimbledon championships, just like her older sister, Venus. Meanwhile, third-seeded French Open runner-up Simona Halep will face Brazils Teliana Pereira and fifth-seeded Roland Garros champion Maria Sharapova will take on Brit Samantha Murray. Sharapova captured her lone Wimbledon title by upsetting Serena in the final here 10 years ago. Also on Tuesdays schedule will be seventh-seeded former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic, 11th-seeded former top-ranked star Ana Ivanovic, 13th-seeded two- time 2014 Grand Slam semifinalist Eugenie Bouchard, and 19th-seeded Sabine Lisicki, who was last years Wimbledon runner-up to since-retired Marion Bartoli. ' ' '