Joe Root will be in action for England in the third Test against Sri Lanka, which is set to take place at the Oval from Friday (September 6) onwards. During the third and final Test of the ongoing three-match series, Root will have a chance to create history and become the first batter in the world to score 5000 runs in the World Test Championship.
The 33-year-old right-handed batter, who scored a century in both innings of the second Test played at Lord’s last week, has 4948 runs to his name in 57 WTC matches played so far for England. The all-time leading run scorer in WTC history needs 52 more runs to cross the 5000-run mark.
Most runs in WTC
- Joe Root (England) – 4948
- Marnus Labuschagne (Australia) – 3904
- Steve Smith (Australia) – 3486
- Ben Stokes (England) – 3101
- Babar Azam (Pakistan) – 2725
Apart from becoming the first batter to score 5000 runs in WTC, Root, who made his Test debut on December 13, 2012, in Nagpur against India, will also have a chance to become the all-time leading runs scorer in Test cricket for England.
He has 12,377 runs to his name in 145 matches played so far, and he needs 96 more runs to go past Alastair Cook’s tally of 12,472 runs for England in 161 matches.
Most runs for England in Tests
- Alastair Cook – 12,472
- Joe Root – 12,377
- Graham Gooch – 8900
- Alec Stewart – 8463
- David Gower – 8231
Root will overtake former Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara (12,400) and become the sixth leading run scorer in Test cricket’s history if he scores 24 more runs, and by scoring 96 runs, he will take the No. 5 position.
Most runs in Tests
- Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 15,921
- Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 13,378
- Jacques Kallis (South Africa) – 13,289
- Rahul Dravid (India) – 13,288
- Alastair Cook (England) – 12,472
- Kumar Sangkkara (Sri Lanka) – 12,400
- Joe Root (England) – 12,377
The overall record of scoring most runs in Test cricket is in the name of Sachin Tendulkar. The former Indian captain finished his 24-year-long career with 15,921 runs in 200 matches. Tendulkar is followed by Australia’s Ricky Ponting (13,378 runs), South Africa’s Jacques Kallis (13,289 runs), and India’s Rahul Dravid (13,288 runs).
If Root manages to score a century in the Oval Test, he will overtake Sunil Gavaskar, Brian Lara, Younis Khan, and Mahela Jayarwardene (34 centuries each) and become the sixth batter in the world to score 35 or more centuries in Test cricket’s history.
Most 100s in Tests
- Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 51
- Jacques Kallis (South Africa) – 45
- Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 41
- Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) – 38
- Rahul Dravid (India) – 36
- Younis Khan (Pakistan) – 34
- Sunil Gavaskar (India) – 34
- Brian Lara (West Indies) – 34
- Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) – 34
- Joe Root (Sri Lanka) – 34
The record of scoring most 100s in Tests is also in the name of Tendulkar, who crossed the 100-run mark 51 times in his Test career. Kallis scored 45 centuries in 166 Tests for South Africa, and Ponting slammed 41 tons in 161 red-ball matches for the Baggy Greens. Sangakkara has 38 Test centuries to his name, and Dravid is fifth on the list with 36 hundreds in 164 Tests for India.
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