ENG vs NZ: Joe Root scored his 26th test century.© AFP
While Joe Root led his century in the fourth innings of England’s first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s on Sunday, he also became just the second player in the country to reach 10,000 runs in the longest format of the game after Alastair Cook. Coincidentally, Root got there at the exact same age as Cook. Cook was 31 years and 157 days old when he reached the milestone, while Root was also 31 years and 157 days old on Sunday. The two are the joint youngest to reach the milestone.
He also became England’s fastest batter to reach the milestone, coming there faster than Cook. While it took Cook 229 innings to reach the milestone, Root made it in 218 innings. Overall, he is the 14th player to score 10,000 test runs and the 10th fastest player to reach the milestone in terms of innings.
Root’s 26th Test century propelled England to a 5-wicket victory over New Zealand to give them a 1-0 lead in the three-game run.
With England trailing 277, Root came out on top with the score at 32/2. They were 69/4 shortly afterwards, but Root kept the ship stable along with new skipper Ben Stokes.
The two tied for 90 points before Stokes left for 54.
Root, however, made sure his team crossed the finish line when he set an unbeaten score of 120 runs with Ben Foakes, scoring 81 runs of his own.
promoted
Root finished undefeated in 115 of 170 deliveries, reaching 12 limits in the process.
He now has 10,015 runs in 118 Tests.
Topics mentioned in this article