Alastair Cook described Joe Root as “a genius” and a “run-scoring machine” after the 33-year-old surpassed his record as England’s highest Test run-scorer on his way to an epic, unbeaten 176 on the third day of the first Test in Pakistan.
Root was “tired more than anything” after an eight-hour innings in the Multan heat that, with Harry Brook also unbeaten on 141, helped England to 492 for three at stumps, 64 behind.
By the close Root had scored 12,578 Test runs, having eased past Cook’s mark of 12,472, and moved into fifth on the list of all-time Test scorers. He needs another 801 to overtake Ricky Ponting and rise to second, and 3,344 to overhaul Sachin Tendulkar at the top.
“He’s just this consistent run-scoring machine,” Cook said. “There are other geniuses who can play genius innings, but Root is a genius with consistency.”
“I’m proud but I still feel there’s plenty more left to do and many more runs to get,” Root said. “I’m sure I’ll look back on it at some point and feel very proud of it.”
Root finds himself in the form of his life: in his last 15 Test innings he has scored five centuries, four 50s and averages 90.41. “You’re going to go through periods when you don’t score so many but what Joe Root does, when he’s in good form he catches it, and he constantly gets good scores,” said Ben Duckett, who was in the middle when Root took Cook’s record.
“It’s pretty cool being out there with him, one of the greats of the game. But it doesn’t feel like that – he’s incredibly humble. Batting the whole day in that heat shows mentally how fit he is and also physically. I was only out there for a session and it was tough work.”
Jason Gillespie, the Pakistan coach, was in charge at Yorkshire between 2011 and 2016, arriving when Root was emerging at the county before winning his first Test cap in 2012. “I’d be pretty confident saying he’s one of the game’s true greats,” he said. “One of his things was, and I thought it was quite mature for a young man, asking coaches: ‘Tell me what I need to hear, not what you think I want to hear.’ He just always strives to get better and always strives to improve. That was my experience with him.”
Root reached the landmark on what was already destined to be a memorable day for his family: it was the wedding of his brother Billy, who plays for Glamorgan. “I think the bubbles will be coming out later,” said their father, Matt.
Duckett scored 84 after recovering from a dislocated thumb sustained towards the end of day two. “It went straight back in. It’s one of those ones that’s going to be a bit sore for a couple of weeks but won’t impact on me playing,” he said. “I did the exact same thumb the same way a couple of years ago so I knew exactly what was wrong with it. Thankfully there was no issue getting it back in.”
England will attempt to bat deep into the fourth day in an effort to force a result on a lifeless pitch. “Hopefully we’ll get into a position where after lunch we can really push on, score as quick as we can, and hope there’s going to be 10 more chances,” said Duckett.
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Gillespie refused to blame the pitch after his team managed to take only two wickets in the day. “There’ve been times when the seamers have come in, hit the pitch hard and asked some questions of the opposition batters, just probably not enough of them,” he said. “You’ve just got to keep coming in and bashing that pitch hard, and we’ve done that in patches. Something can happen. You’ve just got to believe that, that if you keep coming in, keep bashing that pitch, things will happen.”
Root’s achievement was hailed by the current England captain, Stokes, who is in Pakistan but missing the first Test through injury. “The selflessness that he has is an incredible attribute for him,” Stokes said in a video released by the England and Wales Cricket Board on X.
“He always puts the team first, and the fact that he’s got so many runs is just a bonus for us. He’s an incredible player. It’s going to take a long, long time for someone to come in and break that record. Just a great bloke. And an unbelievable feat to score that many runs. But the non-selfishness that he possesses is one thing I think sets him above or sets him apart from anybody else who is going to play for England for a long time.”
