Stats: Joe Root becomes joint-youngest player to complete 10,000 Test runs

England’s new era under head coach Brendon McCullum is off to a flying start as his men defeated New Zealand by five wickets in the opening Test at Lords. It was their talisman, Joe root who rose to the occasion, like he so often does, with a magnificent century against the blackcaps. The former England skipper recorded his 26th Test century, along the way completing 10,000 runs in Test cricket.

He became the 14th batter overall and only the 2nd Englishman after Sir Alastair Cook to reach this milestone. Root also became the joint-youngest batter to achieve this feat as he surpassed greats  like Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis, and Ricky Ponting to this feat. The Englishman also joined an elite list of players with over 10,000 runs in the longest format of the game.

Youngest to 10,000 Test runs:

Joe Root came to the rescue once again

Meanwhile, England were in a spot of bother on the 3rd day when they lost Jonny Bairstow with the scoreboard reading 69/4. Kyle Jamieson was England’s tormentor-in-chief as he was generating extra bounce and pace off the pitch. Root was then joined by England’s newly-appointed skipper, Ben Stokes at the crease.

The southpaw looked uncomfortable at the beginning of the innings and was even bowled by Colin De Grandhomme, but he got a reprieve as the Kiwi had overstepped. The new skipper then switched gears with some trademark shots through the covers region. But just when England threatened to take the game away, Jamieson got rid of the English all-rounder for a well-made 54.

It looked like New Zealand was going to run through the English batting line-up once again, but Root had other ideas as he counter-attacked after the fall of Stokes and stitched a fifty-run stand with Ben Foakes before the end of the day’s play. England needed 64 runs to win at the start of Day 4, but there was a bit of nervousness in the air, given England’s frequent batting collapses in recent times. However, the right-handed bulwark held the fort with Ben Foakes (32 not out) as the pair added 120 runs together to seal England’s victory in the 1st test by five wickets.