Multan: Joe Root scripted history on Wednesday (October 9) by becoming the highest run-getter for England in Test cricket. Root achieved the milestone on Day 3 of the ongoing first Test between Pakistan and England at the Multan Cricket Stadium. Root needed 71 runs to surpass legendary opening batter Sir Alastair Cook as the leading run-scorer for the Three Lions in red-ball cricket.
Root resumed his overnight score of 32 and scored 39 runs in the first session as England finished the first session on 232 for 2, still 324 runs behind Pakistan’s first-innings score of 556.
Resuming at 96 for 1, England lost Zak Crawley (78) early but still managed to add 136 runs in just 25 overs with Ben Duckett and Root leading the way.
Root’s remarkable rise in the last 3.5 years
Bracketed alongside Australia’s Steven Smith, India’s Virat Kohli, and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson as the modern-day ‘Fab Four’ who ruled the batting charts in the 2010s, Root has raced miles ahead of his peers in the last 3.5 years. Since 2021, Root has been absolutely unstoppable, hitting the peak of his career as a batter. The prolific batter has smashed 17 centuries since 2021, ten more than any other player except Williamson, who sits at a distant second with nine hundreds.
Root’s remarkable numbers are down to the fact that he has been far more consistent in converting the starts to big scores. Up until the end of 2020, he breached the 50-run mark 66 times across 97 Tests but could convert the scores into three figures on only 17 occasions – second worst by a batter in the period.
In 50 Test matches since, he has remarkably doubled the tally to 34 at an astonishing rate of converting every second 50+ score to a 100 – by far the best in this period. Remarkably, his aggregate of 17 tons since 2021 is the same as the combined tally of his ‘Fab Four’ peers Williamson (9), Smith (6), and Kohli (2).
Most runs in Test cricket
15921 – Sachin Tendulkar
13378 – Ricky Ponting
13289 – Jacques Kallis
13288 – Rahul Dravid
12473* – Joe Root
12472 – Alastair Cook
12400 – Kumar Sangakkara
ENG vs PAK: England batter Joe Root is now only behind four players in the highest run-getters in Tests list. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
