England vs New Zealand: Joe Root Becomes Joint-Youngest Batter To Reach 10,000 Test Runs
England vs New Zealand: Joe Root became just the 14th player to reach 10,000 Test runs.
As Joe Root brought up his century in the fourth innings of England's first Test against New Zealand at Lord's on Sunday, he also became just the second player from the country to reach 10,000 runs in the longest format of the game after Alastair Cook. Co-incidentally, Root got there at the exact same age as Cook. Cook was 31 years and 157 days old when he reached the milestone, while Root was also 31 years and 157 days old on Sunday. The two are the joint-youngest to get to the milestone.
He also became the fastest England batter to achieve the milestone, getting there quicker than Cook. While Cook took 229 innings to get to the landmark, Root achieved it in 218 innings. Overall, he is the 14th player to score 10,000 Test runs and the 10th fastest player to get to the milestone in terms of innings.
Root's 26th Test century powered England to a 5-wicket win over New Zealand to give them a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
With England chasing 277, Root came in to bat with the score at 32/2. They were 69/4 soon after, but Root steadied the ship along with new skipper Ben Stokes.
The two put on a 90-run stand, before Stokes departed for 54.
Root, however, ensured his team crosses the finishing line as he put on an unbeaten 120-run stand with Ben Foakes, out of which he himself scored 81 runs.
Root finished unbeaten on 115 off 170 deliveries, hitting 12 boundaries in the process.
He now has 10,015 runs in 118 Tests.
England Cricket Team
New Zealand Cricket Team
Joe Root