Michael Hussey warns Oz to be wary of 'dangerous' Root ahead of Ashes

Former Australian batsman Michael Hussey has lavished praise on Joe Root, describing the England batsman as a 'dangerous' and a key player for his team ahead of next month's Ashes series.

Root, who has established himself as one of the batting mainstay, has averaged 57 since the World Cup and recently displayed an aggressive style of play in the victorious series against New Zealand.

Hussey believes that it is very hard to stop when a confident player (Root) gets into the habit of scoring runs.

Describing Root as a 'dangerous' player, Hussey said that he is very much in the same vein at the moment as Steve Smith is for Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The left-hander, who played 79 Test matches for Australia, also praised England's depth in the batting line-up, saying that the inclusion of Moeen Ali at number eight will further bolster their batting.

Although Hussey expects the series to be a closely fought affair, he insisted that Australia have a great squad and they would be very determined to do well.