Edgbaston, June 29: Every time Joe Root walks out to bat in a Test match, history watches. The England batting maestro has made a habit of rewriting records and climbing the ranks of cricketing greats. As the second Test against India begins at Edgbaston this Wednesday, the stage is once again set for Root to take another step towards cricketing immortality.
England lead the five-match series 1-0 after a thrilling win at Headingley, where they successfully chased down 371—their second-highest fourth-innings chase in Test history. Root played a crucial supporting role in the win, scoring 28 in the first innings and an unbeaten 53* in the second.
Now returning to his happy hunting ground in Birmingham, Root has every reason to aim big. Edgbaston has been one of his most prolific venues in Test cricket. With 920 runs from nine matches and 16 innings at a staggering average of 70.76, Root is not only England’s highest run-scorer at the venue but also the overall top scorer in Test history at this ground. His tally includes three centuries and five fifties, with a highest score of 142*.
His last three appearances at Edgbaston alone speak volumes. Root has racked up 424 runs from five innings at an extraordinary average of 141.33, including two centuries and a fifty. Clearly, Birmingham brings out his best.
Root’s incredible consistency has positioned him on the verge of several major milestones. One more century would take his Test tally to 37, moving him past Australia’s Steve Smith and India’s Rahul Dravid (both with 36) to become the fifth-highest century-maker in Test history. Only legends like Jacques Kallis (45), Ricky Ponting (41), Kumar Sangakkara (38), and Sachin Tendulkar (51) would then stand ahead.
Beyond the Test arena, another hundred across formats would bring Root level with South Africa’s Hashim Amla, both sitting at 55 international centuries. Root’s 36 Test and 18 ODI centuries already place him among the most prolific all-format batters of the modern era. At the top, of course, remains Tendulkar, with an unmatched 100 international centuries.
Root is also within touching distance of overtaking Rahul Dravid on the list of all-time Test run-scorers. Currently sitting fifth with 13,087 runs in 154 Tests, Root needs 202 more to surpass Dravid’s tally of 13,288. If achieved, it would make him the fourth-highest scorer in Test history, trailing only Tendulkar, Ponting, and Sangakkara.
At just 33, Root’s average of 50.92 from 281 Test innings—with a best of 262—speaks to both longevity and brilliance. While his recent returns in this series (115 runs from three innings) haven’t been explosive, Edgbaston presents the ideal platform for another classic Joe Root masterclass. (Agencies)
