(Cricket news) Joe Root has been a top batter and captain for England in the past few years but this year has seen the right hander diving into the record books. Root is currently playing in the 1st Test of the Ashes series and his 13th match of the season. He has been captaining England in Test matches since 2017 and has led the side in 57 matches which is the second most by an England player.
Root is only two matches behind Sir Alastair Cook who led the side from 2010- 2016 and is also the top run getter in Tests as Root is second. Root has also captained the side in 39 consecutive Test matches which is the joint 8th highest along with former West Indies captain Gary Sobers. While Root has played the second most matches as captain for England, his victory in 27 matches is the joint most for his side along with Colin Cowdrey who captained the side from 1959-1969.
The 30 year old has yet another record at sight in Test matches this year which has been in the run scoring category in a single season. He broke Michael Vaughan’s record of 1,481 runs in 2002 while playing in the second innings of the 1st Ashes Test. Root is now only 260 runs away from breaking Mohammad Yousuf’s world record of 1788 runs in 2006, as of now he is 23 runs away from breaking Ricky Ponting’s record which was set in 2005.
"Yeah, it has to be, absolutely it does," Root said when asked if his side was ready to win the big moments. "You look at some of the players, some of the individuals, some of the performances guys have put in, the senior guys have done it time and time again”.
"The junior guys have shown glimpses of what they can do and their potential. What better stage to really grab a series and make an announcement on the international stage. I'm an Ashes player and I want to live in the history of this great rivalry” he concluded.
Root is the 8th batter to score more than 1500 runs in a season as only Ponting is the only one to do it twice. In England’s record of most runs in Test matches in a season, Root appears thrice on the top five as he was only four short of Vaughan’s record in 2016. Root has been one of the top batters in the Test format and has proved himself in the last five years.
