New Delhi: Former England captain Sir Alastair Cook displayed a heart-warming gesture towards senior batter Joe Root after breaking his record for most Test centuries for England. On Saturday, Root notched up his 34th Test century in the ongoing second Test against Sri Lanka at Lord’s.
The back-to-back hundreds in the match helped the Yorkshire player to surpass Cook’s 33 Test centuries and enter the list of top 10 batters with most hundreds in Test cricket.
Cook, who was present in the commentary box for the BBC Test Match Special, showered praise on the 33-year-old Root, who succeeded him as England’s red-ball captain in 2017.
“He is quite simply England’s greatest, and it’s absolutely right that he should have this record, on his own. Take it in, Joe. We are watching a genius,” Cook said on-air after Root shattered his milestone.
“I don’t think there’s a batsman that I can remember watching play [who shares] the sense of inevitability about scoring runs that Joe Root gives off. I called it when he was on about 6 today, that he was going to get 100. I know he’s in great form, but it’s just a pleasure to watch a master, a craftsman at work.”
Watch the video of Cook heaping praise on Root here:
A special moment for Joe Root as he reaches 34 Test hundreds.
The man whose record he surpasses was watching on.
Sir Alastair Cook 🤝 Joe Root#bbccricket pic.twitter.com/EjjH9zd0mc
— Test Match Special (@bbctms) August 31, 2024
Where does Joe Root rank in list of most Test centuries?
Joe Root is the joint-sixth player to score most Test centuries after registering his 34th ton at Lord’s. He entered into a five-member club who have amassed 34 three-figure scores in the history of Test cricket. Sunil Gavaskar (India, 1971-1987), Younis Khan (Pakistan, 2000-2017), Brian Lara (West Indies, 1990-2006), and Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka, 1997-2014) are other members of the 34-Test-century club.
Legendary Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar sits on the top of the charts with 51 Test centuries from 200 Tests between 1989 and 2013. Jacques Kallis (45), Ricky Ponting (41), Kumar Sangakkara (38), and Rahul Dravid (36) are the only other batters to have scored more Test hundreds than Root.
England batter Joe Root holds a new record for registering most Test hundreds. He went past his former skipper Alastair Cook’s record of 33 Test centuries during England vs Sri Lanka 2nd Test at Lord’s. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
