England can’t get enough of The West Australian’s coverage of the Ashes, with the front page of Friday’s newspaper making waves across the globe with a nod to Joe Root’s first ton Down Under.

The West’s front page when the second-leading run-scorer in the history of Test cricket arrived in Perth on November 10 deemed him ‘Average Joe’, due to his lack of a Test hundred in Australia.

But the English media have lined up to bite back after Root finally broke the long-running drought with a brilliant 138 not out to lead his side to a strong start in the second Test at the Gabba.

English broadcaster TNT even made a mock revision of the front page which attracted worldwide attention, deeming him ‘Not So Average Joe’ while showing off his aggregate of more than 13,000 Test runs, which includes 40 centuries.

TNT’s coverage has been subject to widespread criticism in England due to both technical issues and a hybrid model which has some commentators in Australia working alongside others covering the series from home.

The West was magnanimous after Root finally broke through for three figures in Australia, with Friday’s front page declaring: “He’s not a bad Root after all”.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan — who ahead of the series declared The West was his “new favourite paper” for providing prominent cricket coverage — re-posted the front page to his Instagram account.

“You have to chuckle,” Vaughan wrote.

The West was even acknowledged alongside some Australian icons in BBC chief cricket reporter Stephan Shemilt’s wrap of proceedings at the Gabba.

“When Root landed in Perth last month, the West Australian newspaper splashed him across its front page with the headline ‘Average Joe’ because of the absence of an Australian ton,” Shemilt wrote.

“Now (Darren) Lehmann, the West Australian, Kylie Minogue, Chris Hemsworth and Bluey the dog must acknowledge Root as an all-timer.”

The Barmy Army — who refused to speak to The West on the first day of the series in Perth due to “unfair” coverage of the English team — were not hugely creative in their response.

The English supporter group simply posted side-by-side photos of the ‘Average Joe’ front page and Root celebrating his century with a caption of: “hahahahahahaha”.