England‘s star batter Joe Root made history on the second day of the third Test against the West Indies at Edgbaston. Root, who started the day needing just 14 runs to surpass West Indian legend Brian Lara‘s career total, reached this milestone in the 14th over of England’s first innings. Unbeaten on 2* overnight, Root carefully played his way to this significant achievement, adding another milestone to his illustrious career.
Joe Root surpasses Brian Lara
In the 10th over of the innings, Root had a lucky escape when an LBW decision off Jayden Seales‘ bowling was not reviewed by the West Indies. Replays later showed that Root would have been out if the review had been taken. This fortunate moment allowed Root to continue and ultimately surpass Lara’s total of 11,953 Test runs. He had started the series as the 10th-highest run-scorer in Test cricket and made steady progress, moving past Mahela Jayawardene and Shivnarine Chanderpaul in the second Test.
Root becomes the 7th-highest run-scorer in Test cricket
By surpassing Lara, Root has now become the seventh-highest run-scorer in the history of Test cricket. The Yorkshireman, who has found his form again in this series, is currently the leading run-scorer in the three-match series against the West Indies. His remarkable career now includes 32 centuries and 62 fifties, and he holds the records for the most runs and centuries in World Test Championship history. Many believe that Root has the potential to eventually become the all-time leading run-scorer in Test cricket, further solidifying his status as one of the game’s greats.
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Batters with most runs in Tests
- 15921 – Sachin Tendulkar (India)
- 13378 – Ricky Ponting (Australia)
- 13289 – Jacques Kallis (South Africa)
- 13288 – Rahul Dravid (India)
- 12472 – Alastair Cook (England)
- 12400 – Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
- 12000 – Joe Root (England)*