da bet vitoria： England’s modern great moves clear of Cook with ultimate Test summit still in his sights

da brdice： Matt Roller09-Oct-20242:04

Roller: Test greats in sight for Root after becoming England’s top scorer

Prior to this Test, Joe Root had described the prospect of becoming England’s all-time leading run-scorer as “irrelevant”, and his understated response to the landmark on Wednesday morning proved that he meant it. He gently waved his bat to acknowledge the standing ovation on the dressing-room balcony after driving Aamer Jamal down the ground to reach 71, but then was straight back into his work.Root’s point had been that the record would simply be the by-product of his wider ambitions: “I’d like to get more than that in this game,” he explained. He was true to his word, even if he looked sapped by the South Punjab sun by the time he reverse-swept Abrar Ahmed for the single that brought him his 35th Test century.In time, Root will reflect with immense pride on his elevation into the pantheon of the greatest batters England – or anyone else, for that matter – has produced. But more immediately, his focus was on putting England in a position to win this first Test: upon reaching three figures, he kissed the badge on his helmet before raising his bat.He then looked to the skies, acknowledging the influence that the late Graham Thorpe had on his career. Thorpe, who died in August at the age of 55, had been the driving force behind Root’s first Test call-up in 2012, and worked closely with him for the first decade of his career, helping a batter brought up on seaming pitches in Yorkshire become England’s best-ever player of spin.Root went on and on, fighting cramp to reach the close on 176. He played the supporting role in partnerships worth 109, 136 and an unbeaten 243 with Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett and Harry Brook respectively, but was the constant through England’s mammoth innings. After 250 overs spread across three days’ play, Root has only spent eight balls off the field.”[I feel] tired, more than anything. It’s been a long day,” Root said. “I’m obviously proud, but still feel as though there’s plenty more left to do and many more runs to get. I’m sure I’ll look back on it at some point when I’m finished and be very proud of it.”This was his first hundred in Pakistan, after a quiet tour two years ago. It leaves only one obvious gap in his stellar Test CV: Root is yet either to score a century or win a Test in Australia. He will be desperate to address both of those shortcomings as England look to win back the Ashes in just over a year’s time.Root has faced more threatening spinners in much trickier conditions than Abrar on this Multan motorway. But he played him with total ease throughout: he did not score a boundary off him until he swung a full toss through midwicket to reach 166. Instead, he spent the day milking him mercilessly with flicks off his pads and steers through cover.This was an innings which will not quite translate to a highlights package, a slow-burning epic rather than something bitesize. Root only hit a dozen boundaries in 277 balls but ran Pakistan’s fielders ragged on a slow outfield, with seven threes, 16 twos and an incredible 75 singles. He survived two unsuccessful reviews for lbw, but looked in control throughout.For Jason Gillespie, Pakistan’s coach, it was nothing new after spending five years at Yorkshire when Root was early in his international career. “I remember Joe asking coaches, ‘Tell me what I need to hear, not what you think I want to hear.’ It was a coaching lesson for myself,” Gillespie recalled. “He always strives to get better: that was my experience with him.”Joe Root kissed his helmet before raising his bat after reaching his 35th Test century•Getty ImagesLongevity demands resilience – not only mental, but physical too. Remarkably, Root has never missed a Test through injury: he has played in 147 of England’s 149 since his debut, with the two exceptions due to being dropped (Sydney 2014) and the birth of his second child (Southampton 2020).He was clearly struggling physically in the heat of the day, dragging himself up the dressing-room steps at tea. But after spending the interval rehydrating – and wearing an ‘ice sleeve’ around his neck – Root ran back out to the middle in trademark style. He was drained by the close, his foot movement limited through sheer exhaustion, but maintained his focus.”To bat through the whole day in that heat shows, mentally, how fit he is – and also physically,” Duckett said. “I was only out there for a session or a bit under in it and it was tough working that heat. I’m sure he’ll sleep well. Between sessions, we’ve got a great support staff and fluids and getting food on board is so important on a day like this – but to be honest, I think he probably enjoyed more just sitting in an air-conned room.”It was only ever a question of when Root would overtake Alastair Cook, not if. After breaking Cook’s centuries record at a sold-out Lord’s last month, this sparse crowd in arid Multan was a much more low-key backdrop – but reaching the upper echelons of the format demands the ability to adapt both temperament and technique to such diverse surroundings.Since relinquishing the captaincy two-and-a-half years ago, Root has ascended to a higher plane as a batter. It is not as though leadership had a deleterious effect on his batting – he averaged 46.44 as captain – but since then, he has scored 10 hundreds in 30 Tests, averaging 61.11.Related

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If he scores seven more runs on Thursday, Root will become the first Englishman to achieve another notable landmark: 20,000 international runs across formats. While the majority of those have come in Tests, this milestone would be a reminder of his compelling ODI record – and his vital role in England’s only 50-over World Cup win.And yet, like James Anderson and Stuart Broad before him, Root has benefitted from a streamlined schedule. He has only played 28 ODIs in the last five years and – much to his frustration – not a single T20I, but his singular focus on Test cricket has given him enough periods of rest to stay fresh and hungry.He is not done yet. Root turns 34 in December and has no plans to retire: if his body continues to hold up, he could happily play through to the 2027 Ashes and beyond. At his current rate, Root could surpass Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and Ricky Ponting’s aggregates in the next year, while Cook believes he is an even-money bet to eventually surpass Sachin Tendulkar.”Your best one is always your next one,” Root said, asked where his latest hundred ranked among the previous 34. “You’ve got to keep staying hungry to find ways of keep contributing and getting better.” It is that hunger that has defined his career, ever since he first picked up a bat.Tendulkar’s aggregate of 15,921 is still 3,343 runs away, but England play so often that Root will have regular opportunities to close the gap, not least if Pakistan continue to roll out pitches like this one. As for whether he is already England’s greatest? A successful tour to Australia next winter would put that beyond any doubt.