England’s veteran Joe Root became the fastest player to score 13,000 Test runs and joined an elite list on Thursday during his 34-run knock in the first innings of the one-off four-day Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.
Root, who had 12,972 runs in 152 matches ahead of the Test, needed 28 runs to reach the 13 thousand club. He is also the only English player to breach the 13k Test runs mark, and overall only the fifth player to reach the milestone. The run machine, Root, is also the fastest to reach the landmark in just 279 innings of 153 Tests.
Ahead of him stand some great names in the history of sport: Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid.
Root looks prime to break Tendulkar’s record of most runs in Test cricket. With just 2915 runs behind Sachin, Root has played 47 fewer Tests than the Indian batting great. With age on his side (34), Root at the moment is the biggest threat to Tendulkar’s record. He could also break Tendulkar’s most Test record. Master Blaster is the only cricketer to have played 200 Tests, in which he scored a record 15,921 runs. His average is astonishing, 53.78 and has 51 centuries and 68 fifties to his name.
The 34-year-old is also just 372 runs away from the second-highest scorer in Test cricket, Ponting. Ponting has scored 13,378 runs, averaging 51.85 in 168 Test matches.
The Yorkshire-born batter has 36 centuries, joint fifth-highest among all cricketers in Test matches. Among English cricketers, former captain Alastair Cook sits second in the list of highest run-getters. The elegant left-hander has 12,472 runs to his name in 161 Tests.
Most Test runs for England
- Joe Root – 13,006 runs in 153 Tests
- Alastair Cook – 12,472 runs in 161 Tests
- Graham Gooch – 8900 runs in 118 Tests
- Alec Stewart – 8463 runs in 133 Tests
- David Gower – 8231 runs in 117 Tests
Most runs scored in Test cricket
| Player | Mat | Inns | HS | Ave | 100 | 50 | Runs |
| Sachin Tendulkar (IND) | 200 | 329 | 248* | 53.78 | 51 | 68 | 15,921 |
| Ricky Ponting (AUS) | 168 | 287 | 257 | 51.85 | 41 | 62 | 13,378 |
| Jacques Kallis (SA) | 166 | 280 | 224 | 55.37 | 45 | 58 | 13,289 |
| Rahul Dravid (IND) | 164 | 286 | 270 | 52.31 | 36 | 63 | 13,288 |
| Joe Root (ENG) | 153* | 279 | 262 | 50.8 | 36 | 65 | 13,006 |
| Alastair Cook (ENG) | 161 | 291 | 294 | 45.35 | 33 | 57 | 12,472 |
| Kumar Sangakkara (SL) | 134 | 233 | 319 | 57.4 | 38 | 52 | 12,400 |
| Brian Lara (WI) | 131 | 232 | 400* | 52.88 | 34 | 48 | 11,953 |
| Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI) | 164 | 280 | 203* | 51.37 | 30 | 66 | 11,867 |
| Mahela Jayawardene (SL) | 149 | 252 | 374 | 49.84 | 34 | 50 | 11,814 |