The record for most runs in Test cricket held by former England captain Alastair Cook was surpassed by Joe Root. When Root reached the score of 71 on Day 3 of the first Test match between Pakistan and England, he reached the milestone. It’s important to note that Cook bid adieu to Test and finished as England’s all-time leading run scorer in Tests with 12472 runs in 161 games.
It took Root 147 games to get past Cook and take the top spot in England’s batters pantheon, as well as the fifth position overall. With 13288 runs, former Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid is ahead of the right-handed hitter. Star English all-rounder Ben Stokes, meanwhile, praised his colleague’s accomplishment and referred to him as selfless, predicting that record would be difficult to surpass.
Yes, I did play a lot of cricket against someone and with Joe Root for England.
We were close growing up. You would think that in order to score that many runs, the player would need to be a little bit more self-centred, but the Ham is all about the team in all he does, even in his moments of struggle. He was getting stuck left, right, and centre a few years ago, I seem to recall, for not converting his 50s and 100s, even though he was averaging above 50. According to Stokes, “I simply couldn’t wrap my mind around it,” in an interview with ECB.
He possesses an amazing quality that is selfless: Ben Stokes
The veteran has been operating in full charge. Prior to the Pakistan tour, he had 34 Test Tonnes to his name and had struck twin hundreds in the August Lord’s Test against Sri Lanka. Stokes went on to say that Root prioritises the good of the team over the success of an individual. He also said that Root views milestones as benefits that further the team’s goals.
However, from my perspective, after observing the number of hundreds Joe had scored and the games we had won or the distance he had taken us with his hundreds, you know, first he needs 100s, and then that’s what I consider. The number of times he has won a stick is one. His unselfish nature is one of his greatest qualities.
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His many runs are just a benefit for us because he constantly prioritises the team. It will take a very long time for someone to come along and surpass that record because he is such an amazing player, he continued.