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Star England batter, Joe Root on Saturday, August 31 surpasse d former England cricketer and one of the greats of the game, Sir Alastair Cook for most Test hundreds. The England mainstay achieved this feat on the Day 3 of the second Test between England and Sri Lanka at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground.
The 33-year-old, who entered the series with a tally of 32 centuries, equalled Alastair Cook’s record in the first innings at the Lord’s when he went up to sore 143 off 206 deliveries and then surpassed the record previously held by Cook as he scored 103 off 121 deliveries in the second innings of England. Moreover, the twin hundred from Root, took his career aggregate to 12,377 runs.
Seeing the England batter achieve this feat, Sir Alastair Cook, who was part of the commentating panel on BBC, hailed the 33-year-old. The former England test captain also looked emotional as he waited for Root to soak in the moment. “He is quite simply England’s greatest. And it’s right that he should have the record on his own. Take it in Joe, we are watching a genius,” Cook said.
Watch Sir Alastair Cook get emotional on Joe Root’s record most Test hundreds for England:
“I don’t think there’s a batsman that I can remember watching play (who shares) the sense of inevitability about scoring runs that Joe Root gives off. I called it when he was on about 6 today, that he was going to get 100,” Cook added.
Joe Root’s records and stats
Hundred in both innings of a Test at Lord’s
106 & 107 - George Headley (WI) vs ENG, 1939
333 & 123 - Graham Gooch (ENG) vs IND, 1990
103 & 101* - Michael Vaughan (ENG) vs WI, 2004
143 & 103* - Joe Root (ENG) vs SL, 2024
Most Test hundreds against Sri Lanka
9 - Sachin Tendulkar
8 - Younis Khan
6 - Azhar Ali
6 - Joe Root
50 or more hundreds in international cricket
100 - Sachin Tendulkar
80 - Virat Kohli
71 - Ricky Ponting
63 - Kumar Sangakkara
62 - Jacques Kallis
55 - Hashim Amla
54 - Mahela Jayawardene
53 - Brian Lara
50 - Joe Root
England batters with most Test hundreds at a venue
7 - Joe Root at Lord’s
6 - Graham Gooch at Lord’s
6 - Michael Vaughan at Lord’s
Most Test hundreds for England
34 - Joe Root
33 - Alastair Cook
23 - Kevin Pietersen
22 - Wally Hammond
22 - Colin Cowdrey
22 - Geoffrey Boycott
22 - Ian Bell
