On the fourth day of the first Test against New Zealand, Joe Root became only the 14th player in the history of Test cricket to score 10,000 Test runs. His 10,000th run also produced his 26th Test century. He is now seven centuries behind Sir Alastair Cook, who is also the leading run-scorer for England with 12,472 runs. In this piece, we will look at some of the stats that make Root, one of the Fab Four, an All-Time Great.
An all-conditions player
Different countries offer different challenges to a cricketer. A lot of good cricketers are exceptional in a few countries but mediocre in the others. But the great players find a way to improve and challenge themselves to overcome most conditions. Root is that great player.
Except for Bangladesh, Root averages 35+ in all the eight other countries he has batted. He averages 50+ in six countries, places that provide various challenges like bounce, spin, sluggish pace and movement, both in the air and off the pitch. Root averages just 24.50 in Bangladesh, but he has only played two Tests there.
England’s batters are not perceived to be good players of spin; however, Root is an exception. 41 batters from England have a combined average of 40+ in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, countries that assist spinners. Of those 41, only 10 played more than 10 Tests in these countries. Root’s average of 51.66 is the third-highest of them all, having played 17 matches (second-highest).
The Fab Four
Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and Root are often spoken in the same breath in terms of the yardstick of batting in this generation. Collectively, they are called the ‘Fab Four’ of cricket. Root was often considered the fourth player on the list, as his tally of 100s was never close to the other three. However, he has not only overtaken Williamson’s tally of 24 centuries, he is now just one short of equalling Kohli and Smith’s 27 Test centuries. In terms of runs, he is 1972 runs clear of the next best batter – Kohli (8043).
Root has scored the most fifties (53) and also has the most 50+ scores (79). Although Root leads the way in these aspects, a lot of it is aided by the fact that England play the most Tests in a calendar year, with Williamson’s New Zealand playing the least matches as compared to the countries of the other batters from ‘Fab Four’
The resurgence
Of the ‘Fab Four’, Root has been the most improved batter and the most in-form batter. Root’s returns since the start of 2021 have been phenomenal. He was often criticised for his inability to convert his starts into substantial contributions. It has all changed since 2021.
Root has played in Australia, India, Sri Lanka, and West Indies, along with his home country England, since the start of 2021. Except for Australia, where his highest was 89, he scored a century in all the other countries. They were not just hundreds, they were Daddy Hundreds. He scored 150+ in an innings in all those countries, even scoring double hundreds in India and Sri Lanka.
In this period, only three batters – Usman Khawaja (125.16), Abdullah Shafique (68.37) and Dimuth Karunaratne (60.8) – average more than Root’s 56.2. But Root has played almost twice the matches (21) as compared to Karunaratne’s 11, and the other two have played just five matches each.
This big gap between Root and the others is largely due to England playing a lot more Tests than the others. But Root’s ability to consistently perform, often being the only performing batter from his team, is what sets him apart.
Next target?
A landmark of 10,000 Test runs is a huge achievement in cricket. Although a long way away, Root’s target could be the milestone of 15921 – the record of most Test runs set by Sachin Tendulkar. Root has age on his side, as he is only 31, and with England playing more Tests in a year than any other country, he seems to be the most likely batter to challenge the world record.