Tag: Joe Root

NOTTINGHAM: England star batter Joe Root on Thursday became the fastest batter to complete 13,000 Test runs during the ongoing one-off Test against Zimbabwe here at Trent Bridge.

Veteran Joe Root achieved the milestone when he completed 28 runs in the 80th over on Day 1 of the ongoing historic Test. He needed 28 runs to achieve the landmark before coming in to bat.

The right-handed batter is only the 5th batter overall and the first from England to accumulate this many runs in the longest format. In doing so, he surpassed the likes of legendary Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis

He is now the fifth player overall—and the first from England—to cross the 13,000-run mark in Test cricket. Tendulkar still leads the all-time list with 15,921 runs in 200 matches.

Fastest to reach 13000 Test runs (Matches)

• Joe Root (England) – 153
• Jacques Kallis (South Africa) – 159
• Rahul Dravid (India) – 160
• Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 162
• Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 163

Joe Root made his Test debut against India in 2012 and has since become one of the most consistent batters in the longest format of the game.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

Root’s feat was the highlight of the outstanding opening day, which marked the beginning of the English summer.

England’s dominance was evident as they piled up 498-3 in 88 overs on the opening day.

The highlight of the first day was Ben Duckett’s (140) and Zak Crawley’s (124) mammoth opening stand. Both batters scored sublime centuries in a 231-run partnership before getting dismissed.

The opening pair’s centuries were followed by Ollie Pope’s magnificent 169*, who, along with Harry Brook (9), remained unbeaten at the end of day’s play.

READ: USA’s Milind Kumar rewrites ODI history with record-breaking performance

England batting maestro Joe Root has revealed his plans to make a comeback to the T20I squad following his stint in the SA20.

The right-handed batter is a regular feature in England’s Test squad, however, he has not played a white-ball game since the ICC ODI World Cup 2023.

The former England captain last played a T20I for his side in 2019 during a bilateral series against Pakistan. However, the England selectors have been facing growing calls to include Root in the sides for the shorter format.

Joe Root was named in England squad for the ODI series against India as well as the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, however, he remained out of contention for the ongoing T20I series.

Meanwhile, England batters have largely found it hard to tackle spin bowling offered in the T20I series against India.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

“I think you’re always a better player when you’re not in the team. I’m just going to try to play the best cricket I can,” the former England captain said in an interview with a foreign media outlet.

“You look at that squad and it’s full of talented players who can take the game away from the best bowlers in the world. They’ve got two more opportunities out there to turn things around,” he added.

Meanwhile, the right-handed batter expressed his wish to represent England in all three formats.

“But at the same time, I’ve got to play more T20 cricket, prove myself, and see where that takes me and look after that first,” he further stated.

England squad for India ODIs and Champions Trophy

Jos Buttler (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt, Mark Wood.

READ: Former captain questions Pakistan’s ‘too friendly’ approach against India

LONDON: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Sunday, recalled star batter Joe Root to the national ODI squad for the much-anticipated ICC Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled in Pakistan.

The England Men’s selection panel named 15-member ODI and T20I squads that will play tour India for the white-ball series in January, followed by the Champions Trophy 2025 in February and March.

Root has been a key member of England’s Test team, however, he has not featured in any ODI since the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup in November 2023.

Alongside Root, Jos Buttler has also returned to the team and will be leading them during the tour of ODI as well as the eight-team mega-event.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

Meanwhile, Test captain Ben Stokes was not considered for selection owing to a left hamstring injury, which he sustained during the third Test match against New Zealand earlier this month.

England squad will depart on 17 January 2025 for India, where they will play three T20Is and as many ODIs from January 22 to February 12 before heading to Pakistan for Champions Trophy.

England squad for T20I series against India

Jos Buttler (c), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt, Mark Wood

England squad for India ODIs and Champions Trophy

Jos Buttler (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt, Mark Wood.

READ: Nathan McSweeney breaks silence after being dropped from Australia Test squad

Former England captain Alastair Cook on Wednesday hailed fellow countryman Joe Root as a “generational talent” and expressed belief that the right-hander could become the first batter to reach 16,000 Test runs.

Root, 33, overtook Cook’s record England tally of 12,472 runs in the first Test of the ongoing series in Pakistan, in which the Yorkshireman scored a mammoth 262.

He is now fifth on the all-time list of runscorers behind Sachin Tendulkar, who leads the way with 15,921, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid, all of whom have retired.

“I think Joe Root could set a mark, certainly on the English side, which will be very hard to beat,” said Cook, who retired from Test cricket in 2018 with a century in his final innings.

“But you just never know. I hope he can get very close, if not be the first person to score 16,000 Test runs. It would be a great achievement but it’s a fair way off yet.”

Alastair Cook, 39, said even in a fast-changing landscape, with Test cricket competing for calendar space alongside the white-ball game, it was difficult to say records would stand forever.

“Everyone looked to that Tendulkar record of 200 Test matches and I think quite a few people said, ‘Well, that’s never going to be done’.

“And you’ve got a fast bowler who has played 188 Test matches and taken more than 700 wickets (retired England quick James Anderson).

“So I know the game is changing, the landscape is changing. But something always crops up, someone always does.”

Cook said it was difficult to separate the so-called “Big Four” of Root, India’s Virat Kohli, Steve Smith of Australia and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

“They’re all wonderful, wonderful players, all very different actually in terms of their methods and ways of playing,” he said.

“But one thing which kind of unites them is that hunger and desire to keep improving and keep churning out the runs.

“They are generational players who will always be spoken about, and the fact that you can add Joe Root, whether you put him first, second, third, fourth, all personal opinion, it doesn’t really matter.

“But they are great, great players and make the game, the kind of one which we all started playing, look a lot easier than it is.”

Alastair Cook on Wednesday became the 113th payer to be inducted into the International Cricket Council’s Hall of Fame, joining alongside retired India spinner Neetu David, a star of the women’s game, and South African multi-format great AB de Villiers.

“It was a surprise,” said the former England skipper. “When you read the list of people that you’re joining, it’s a great list to have joined. So I feel very privileged.”

Cook paid a warm tribute to former England captain Graham Gooch, a predecessor at his county side, Essex.

“A lot of people know about my relationship with Graham Gooch, Essex and England opener and kind of mentor, friend, coach, you name it,” he said.

“He’s kind of done everything for me. So it’s just we never played on the same team. I thank God, probably. Thank goodness, because he was obviously a far better player than me.”

READ: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan suffer steep decline in ICC Test Rankings

England batting maestro Joe Root has etched his name in the history books as he went past Brian Lara, Younis Khan and Mahela Jayawardene’s tally of centuries during the Multan Test against Pakistan.

Root struck his 35th Test hundred on Day 3 and jumped to the sixth place in the list of most centuries in the format.

With his landmark achievement, the former England captain surpassed Brian Lara, Younis Khan and Mahela Jayawardene, who have scored 34 centuries each in Test cricket. Root is now only three centuries shy of fourth-ranked Kumar Sangakkara.

Most Centuries in Test Cricket

• Sachin Tendulkar – 51 centuries
• Jacques Kallis – 45 centuries
• Ricky Ponting – 41 centuries
• Kumar Sangakkara – 38 centuries
• Rahul Dravid – 36 centuries
• Joe Root – 35 centuries

Moreover, Root also surpassed legendary England batter Alastair Cook for the record of most runs in Test cricket for the country.

The 33-year-old, who has been in remarkable form, walked out to bat at No.3 with England 4-1 and anchored the innings with a mesmerizing knock.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

He was 71 runs behind Cook’s record of 12,472 in Test cricket for England and achieved the milestone with a boundary off Aamir Jamal.

With 12,473 Test runs, Joe Root is now the highest run-scorer for his country in the format, followed by Cook and legendary Graham Gooch (8900).

Root also reached the fifth spot in the all-time highest Test run-scorers with Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar leading the list with 15921 runs.

READ: Ton-up Joe Root helps England dominate Day 3 against Pakistan

MULTAN: A marathon unbeaten fourth-wicket partnership between centurions Joe Root and Harry Brook put England into a dominant position against Pakistan at the Stumps on the third day of the first Test here at Multan Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

The touring side enjoyed a commanding session of play as they piled up 141 runs to get to 492/3 with Root closing in on a double century. The touring side are still trailing by 64 runs.

Root, unbeaten on 176 and Brook, 141 not out, will resume England’s first innings on the fourth day, while Pakistan will look for quick wickets.

England also dominated the second session as they had reached 351-3, trailing by 205 runs, with Root (119) and Brook (64) on the crease.

Pakistan got rid of dangerous Ben Duckett early in the second session with Aamir Jamal providing the breakthrough. The left-hander played a quick-fire knock of 84 runs from 71 balls, laced with eleven boundaries.

Root was joined by Brook and together they added an unbeaten 110 runs in 133 balls for the fourth wicket until the umpires called the Tea on Day 3.

England scored 232-2 at Lunch on Day 3 with Ben Duckett and Joe Root on the crease with scores of 80 and 72 respectively.

Pakistan got the early breakthrough in the morning as they removed set England batter Zak Crawley, who was playing at 78 runs from 85 balls.

However, following the dismissal, Duckett joined Root and together they attacked Pakistan bowlers, constructing a 119* run stand for the third wicket in 124 balls.

Duckett, who could not open the innings yesterday due to a finger injury, particularly played aggressively with a strike-rate of over 100. Meanwhile, the in-form Root continued to show his elegant strokeplay.

At the Stumps on Day 2, England were 96/1 with Crawley, unbeaten with a run-a-ball, 64 and Joe Root, 32 not out, at the crease.

The touring side had a shaky start to their first innings as they lost their interim captain Ollie Pope for a two-ball duck.

But Crawley made an astounding recovery for England with a brisk knock while Root played cautiously until the end of the play.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

Returning Aamir Jamal claimed the solitary wicket for Pakistan on the second day.

Prior to that, Pakistan lost their two wickets in quick succession in the third session after piling up a mammoth 556-run total on the board.

Abrar Ahmed (3) was the last wicket to fall, falling prey to part-time bowler Joe Root. Prior to that, Shaheen Shah Afridi, who scored a crucial 26 runs, was bowled by Jack Leach.

Salman Ali Agha remained unbeaten at 104 runs from 119 balls, which featured ten boundaries and three sixes.

Meanwhile, Pakistan captain Shan Masood top-scored with a marathon 151-run knock from 177 deliveries, featuring 13 fours and two sixes.

Opening batter Abdullah Shafique also played a brilliant innings of 102 off 184 deliveries, laced up with a dozen boundaries including two sixes.

Shan opted to bat first after winning the toss and came out to bat in the fourth over after Saim Ayub (4) fell to Gus Atkinson.

Playing XIs

Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel (vc), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Abrar Ahmad.

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jack Leach, and Shoaib Bashir.

READ: Joe Root surpasses Alastair Cook to claim all-time England record

Star England batter Joe Root added another feather to his cap on Wednesday as he surpassed legendary batter Alastair Cook for the most runs in Test cricket for the country.

The right-handed batter achieved the milestone in England’s first of the three-match series against Pakistan at Multan

The 33-year-old, who has been in remarkable form, walked out to bat at No.3 with England 4-1 and anchored the innings with a mesmerizing knock.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

He was 71 runs behind Cook’s record of 12,472 in Test cricket for England and achieved the milestone with a boundary off Aamir Jamal.

With 12,473 Test runs, Joe Root is now the highest run-scorer for his country in the format, followed by Cook and legendary Graham Gooch (8900).

Root also reached the fifth spot in the all-time highest Test run-scorers with Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar leading the list with 15921 runs.

Most Runs in Test cricket

• Sachin Tendulkar (India) — 15921
• Ricky Ponting (Australia) — 13378
• Jacques Kallis (South Africa) — 13289
• Rahul Dravid (India) — 13288
• Joe Root (England) — 12473

As of this writing, Root has scored 72 runs from 118 balls with the help of five boundaries, pushing England’s total to 232-2 at Lunch on Day 3. He was supported by Ben Duckett, who played a quick-fire knock of 80* off 67 balls.

READ: England pacer leaves Pakistan tour midway for his wedding

England batting maestro Joe Root achieved a historic milestone during the ongoing Multan Test against Pakistan as he became the first player to cross the 5000-run landmark in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC).

Root was 27 runs away from the milestone before the match and he successfully reached the target on Tuesday. He came out to bat in the second over after captain Ollie Pope’s dismissal and scored 32 runs at the Stumps on Day 2.

He is standing at the top of the run-scoring charts of the WTC, followed by the Australian duo of Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith with 3904 runs and 3484 runs respectively.

As of this writing, Joe Root is playing at 56 with the scoreboard reading 184-2 on Day 3. England are trailing by 372 runs.

Pakistan piled up a mammoth 556 runs courtesy of captain Shan Masood’s 151 as well as Abdullah Shafique and Salman Ali Agha’s centuries.

The home team lost their two wickets in quick succession in the third session on Day 2 to end their marathon innings.

Abrar Ahmed (3) was the last wicket to fall, falling prey to part-time bowler Joe Root. Prior to that, Shaheen Shah Afridi, who scored a crucial 26 runs, was bowled by Jack Leach.

Salman Ali Agha remained unbeaten at 104 runs from 119 balls, which featured ten boundaries and three sixes.

Playing XIs

Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel (vc), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Abrar Ahmad.

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jack Leach, and Shoaib Bashir.

READ: England pacer leaves Pakistan tour midway for his wedding

New Zealand’s Kane Williamson admits he is a big fan of “phenomenal” Joe Root, believing England’s top-ranked Test batsman will break many more records.

New Zealand will begin their South Asia tour against Afghanistan in a one-off Test near New Delhi on Monday, ahead of two Tests in Sri Lanka and three more in India.

Williamson is one of the current generation of leading Test batsmen alongside Root, Virat Kohli of India and Australia’s Steve Smith, who were dubbed the “Fab Four” by late New Zealand great Martin Crowe.

“(Root) has been phenomenal, and I’m obviously a big fan of his,” 34-year-old Williamson told reporters at the Greater Noida ground on Saturday, the venue for the Afghanistan clash.

“I’ve enjoyed watching not just him, but obviously those other guys,” he said, referring to Kohli and Smith.

He called all three “amazing players” that have “moved the game forward in a big way”.

Root has been among the runs lately, in contrast to the dipping form of Kohli and Smith.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

The former England captain Joe Root has been in blazing form in recent weeks, scoring three centuries and three fifties in five home Tests, including hundreds in both innings against Sri Lanka at Lord’s.

Root scored his 34th Test century in the process to go past Alastair Cook’s previous England record of 33 tons and now stands in seventh spot on the list of the all-time run-scorers with 12,390 runs.

India, batting great Sachin Tendulkar, tops the chart with 15,921 runs and 51 centuries in a glittering 200-Test career that ended in 2013.

Kane Williamson said Root, who is only 33 years old and has played 146 Tests, has the potential to surpass Tendulkar.

“There is a lot of attention on what he might achieve in the years to come,” he said.

New Zealand will be playing their first Test in six months when they take on Afghanistan, but Williamson said he felt confident.

“Playing for my country, for my team, makes me perform on the field,” he said, adding he was “very excited” to play six away Tests which will count towards the World Test Championship.

“In some ways, it’s like a tournament sport, even though it’s over a long period”, he said.

READ: WATCH: Chris Woakes bowls spin in third Test against Sri Lanka

England star batter Joe Root recently opened up on the prospect of surpassing legendary Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar as the highest run-scorer in Test cricket.

Root, who is enjoying a purple patch with the bat in red-ball cricket, scored another hundred in the ongoing second home Test against Sri Lanka on Saturday, taking his centuries tally to 34.

With his 34th century, Joe Root came level with legends of the game including Pakistan’s Younis Khan, India’s Sunil Gavaskar, Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene, and West Indies’ Brian Lara.

Root, who recently amassed 12,000 runs in Test cricket to become the seventh-highest run-scorer of all time, has second-placed Ponting and Tendulkar’s overall record within sight.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

The English batter has scored 12377 runs, meanwhile, Sachin Tendulkar is leading the list with 15921 runs.

With Root being 33 years old and 3544 runs away from Tendulkar’s record, it’s been discussed among cricket circles that he has a realistic chance of surpassing the Indian legend as the highest run-scorer in Test cricket.

He was asked if he is keeping an eye on breaking Tendulkar’s record after scoring his 34th Test hundred, however, the right-hander stated that he prefers to keep team goals over his personal milestones.

“I just want to play, and try, and do my bit for the team and score the runs as many as I can and see where we get to,” said Joe Root.

“It’s obviously amazing when, you score 100, you’d be lying if you said it wasn’t, a big part of why you start playing the game and what you love about it.

“But there’s no better feeling than winning a Test match. So the more, it can affect games and the more you can, add to the team, the greater it is. So, that will be the main focus. And hopefully more days like this will come with that mentality.”

READ: Usama Mir joins Melbourne Stars as sole Pakistan pick in BBL Draft