Follow UsJoe Root has been one of the most prolific batters in Test cricket in the recent past, scoring 6,050 runs in 122 innings of 68 Tests since January 1, 2020. No other batter had scored even 4,000 runs in that period. His average of 55 in that period is also second only to Kane Williamson (64), who has played only 27 Tests in that period.
On July 25 (Friday), the former England captain went past three legends, Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and Ricky Ponting, to become the second-highest scorer in Tests, behind only Sachin Tendulkar. However, Root now trails Tendulkar by only 2512 runs.
It was only coincidental that Ricky Ponting, part of the Sky Sports’ commentary panel for the series, was on the mic while Root crossed him to get to number two during the fourth Test at Manchester. Reacting after the milestone, Root said that he wanted to be like each of the batters growing up, the ones that he has surpassed today.
“It is pretty cool. You look at the names [on the list], all the people are those I tried to be while growing up, playing in the garden, on the streets, in the driveways. Even to be mentioned in the same sentence as these guys is a bit of a ‘pinch yourself’ moment,” Root said while being part of a discussion for Sky Sports Cricket alongside Ponting himself.
Talking about dealing with impending records, Root said, “You can’t avoid it, they are everywhere! You know it, but you try to put it out of your mind. It’s easy to get caught up in this stuff, but at the end of the day, you are playing against India in one of the biggest series there is.”
Root also has 38 centuries to his name, fourth on the list of most tons by a batter in Tests, behind Ponting (41), Kallis (45) and Tendulkar (51). But the Englishman is not chasing records even as he has a good 3–4 years of Test cricket ahead of him.
“When it comes to it, those [personal records] have to take a backseat. It’s not about you, it’s about winning the game. You are not doing your job properly if you are concentrating on yourself,” Root said, detailing his priorities.