Joe Root breaks Alastair Cook's Tally to become England's all-time leading run-scorer in Tests

Joe Root has etched his name into the history books with a blazing run of form with the bat in the ongoing first Test between Pakistan and England at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Wednesday, October 9. Root has now become England's leading run scorer in Test cricket.

The righty-handed batter surpassed legendary England batter Alastair Cook's long-standing record of 12,472 runs to become the all-time leading run scorer for England in Test cricket. The 33-year-old achieved this historic milestone on Day 3 of the Multan Test against Pakistan.

Joe Root surpasses Alastair Cook to become England's leading run-scorer in Test cricket

Joe Root scripted the history in just 268 innings, while Cook took 291 innings to score 12,472 runs in Test cricket. The former England has 33 centuries and 57 fifties to his name in the traditional format of the game, while Root has already hammered 34 hundreds and 65 fifties.

HISTORY AT MULTAN 🙇

JOE ROOT BECOMES THE LEADING RUN-GETTER IN ENGLAND TEST HISTORY 🫡

Root over-takes the Alastair Cook with 12472 runs. pic.twitter.com/IDhmKcOFU8

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) October 9, 2024

Now, the right-handed batter has the most number of centuries, fifties, and runs in the Test cricket for England, which has placed him among the all-time greatest batters the game has ever seen. Overall, Root is now the fifth-highest run scorer in the history of Test cricket.

Joe Root now among Top 5 highest run scorers in Test Cricket history

Joe Root has joined the elite ranks of the top five highest run scorers in Test cricket history. The only players ahead of Root are Sachin Tendulkar (15,921 runs), Ricky Ponting (13,378), Jacques Kallis (13,289 runs), and Rahul Dravid (13,288 runs) in the list of highest Test run scorers.

Well, apart from Tendulkar, Indian batting legend Rahul Dravid and legendary South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis’ records are in danger, as Root now needs around 800 more runs to overtake these greats and came inch close to the Master Blaster.

If Root manages to maintain his current form, he would certainly break Dravid, Kallis, and Ricky Ponting’s record to become the all-time second-highest Test run score by the end of 2025. Well, the former England captain is aggressively batting against Pakistan in Multan.

He has already smashed 72 runs off 118 balls and sent the ball for five boundaries on Day 3 of the ongoing opening Test of the three-match Test series between Pakistan and England in Multan. On Day 3, Pakistan bowlers struggled to put the English batter under pressure.

Joe Root and Ben Duckett look dangrous in Multan Test

Root and Ben Duckett are already facing their innings and aiming to reach the hundreds in Multan. Notably, Root kicked off his Test career in December 2012, making his debut for England against India in Nagpur, where he impressed with a solid 73 while batting at No. 6.

His top score in Test cricket is an impressive 254, which he made against Pakistan at Old Trafford in July 2016. Root has five double centuries to his name to date in Test cricket. Earlier, during the same match in Multan, Root became the first player ever to surpass 5000 runs in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) to show why he is one of the modern greats of the game.