Joe Root surpasses Alastair Cook's record, hailed as 'England's greatest'
Joe Root entered the record books by smashing his 34th Test century on August 31. This English batter reached this mark in the ongoing 2nd Sri Lanka at Lord's. With this, he surpassed Alastair Cook's record for most Test centuries by an English player. Notably, Root slammed a ton in the first innings as well. The former skipper lauded Root as "England's greatest" and a "genius" at the crease during a BBC Test Match Special commentary.
Cook praises Root's batting prowess
While admiring Root's batting skills, Cook stated, "He is quite simply England's greatest, and it is absolutely right that he should have this record, on his own. Take it in, Joe. We are watching a genius." He further emphasized Root's consistent performance by saying, "I do not think there is a batsman that I can remember watching play (who shares) the sense of inevitability about scoring runs that Joe Root gives off."
Cook reflects on Root's early career
Cook reflected on his initial impressions of Root during an encounter in a List A match in 2009. He admitted that he didn't immediately recognize Root's potential, stating, "He could not get the ball off the square. Everyone said, 'he's a good player,' but I did not see that." However, when Root made his international debut under Cook's captaincy in 2012 against India, Cook was impressed by his mental readiness for Test cricket.
Root among all-time greats
With over 12,000 runs, Root is already among the legends in Test cricket. He recently eclipsed Brian Lara's record of 11,953 runs. The English batter is currently the seventh-highest Test run-scorer, only behind the great Sachin Tendulkar (15,921), Ricky Ponting (13,378), Jacques Kallis (13,289), Rahul Dravid (13,288), Cook (12,472), and Kumar Sangakkara (12,400). At 33, Root has already set his sights on Tendulkar's long-standing record.
A record-breaking 34th Test ton
Root hammered a second successive century in 2nd Test against Sri Lanka on Day 3. He had earlier hit a 143-run knock in the 1st innings. Root is now the highest centurion for England in Tests. He has steered clear of Cook, who smashed 33 centuries for the Three Lions. With his 34th Test ton, Root has equaled the likes of Lara, Mahela Jayawardene, Sunil Gavaskar and Younis Khan in terms of centuries (34 each).
Other feats attained by Root at Lord's
As per ESPNcricinfo, Root has become just the fourth player in Test history to slam hundreds in both innings at Lord's. Root slammed his 50th century in international cricket across formats. In addition to 34 Test tons, he has 16 ODI hundreds. Root slammed his seventh Test ton at Lord's, the most by a batter at the Home of Cricket.
