Joe Root has become the second-fastest batter in history to reach 23,000 international runs. He achieved the milestone during England’s first ODI against Sri Lanka in Chester-le-Street on Tuesday. Root reached the mark in his 521st international innings. Sachin Tendulkar needed 522 innings to get there. Virat Kohli holds the record for being fastest, having done it in just 490 innings.
Root scored 44 runs off 52 balls in that innings, including five boundaries. He reached the milestone with a boundary. He is now the eighth batter overall and the first Englishman to score 23,000 international runs. The others who have achieved this feat are Tendulkar, Kohli, and Rahul Dravid of India, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene of Sri Lanka, Ricky Ponting of Australia, and Jacques Kallis of South Africa.
Across 394 international matches in all formats, Root now has 23,041 runs at an average of 49.87. Alastair Cook is the only other England player to score more than 15,000 runs across formats, with 15,737. Root has 61 international centuries, the most for England. He also has 122 fifties. No other England batter has even 40 hundreds across all three formats.
In ODIs, Root has scored 7,870 runs from 193 matches at an average of 51.10. That includes 20 centuries and 48 fifties. No other England batter has reached 7,000 runs in the format. In Tests, he has 14,278 runs from 169 matches at an average of 50.45. He has 41 hundreds and 69 fifties. Only Tendulkar is ahead of him in Test runs, with 15,921. Root last played a T20I in 2019. He has 893 runs in 32 T20Is at an average of 35.72, with five fifties.
Root turns 36 in December. He is still a consistent performer at the highest level. He is also 31 Tests short of Tendulkar’s record for most Test appearances. His ODI record is often overlooked, but he remains one of England’s top batters across formats. His international run tally is now over 23,000 and still growing.
Harry Brook Hails Will Jacks as England’s “Vital Player” After Heroics Against Sri Lanka
England began their Metro Bank ODI series against Sri Lanka with an 89-run win at Chester-le-Street on Tuesday. Harry Brook believes Will Jacks is growing into a new role for the team. Jacks is usually an opening batter and part-time spinner in white-ball cricket. He has been moved down the order to finish innings and has been used more with the ball.
Jacks has won four player of the match awards there. On Tuesday, he delivered with both bat and ball. England were in trouble after slipping from 181 for 3 to 211 for 7. Jacks made an unbeaten 46 to help them reach a competitive 265. He then took 5 for 22 from seven overs as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 176.
Brook praised Jacks after the match. He said Jacks is really growing into the role and has bought into everything the team wants to do. He noted that Jacks could have complained about batting in the middle order and playing as an all-rounder. Instead, he accepted it and made it his own. Brook called him a vital player. He also said Jacks is not a part-time spinner but a very good off-spinner who can turn the ball and contain batters when needed.
Jacks took three wickets with his last four deliveries. His figures of 5 for 22 are the second-best by an England spinner in an ODI. Only Vic Marks’ 5 for 20 against New Zealand in 1984 is better.
Brook admitted the wicket was not as good as England usually expects. But the team found a way to win when conditions were not in their favour. He said it was hard to score when the ball was hitting the stumps. The plan was to keep the stumps in play and wait for Sri Lanka to make mistakes. Brook said the team wants to adapt to conditions and read surfaces well. He felt they did that exceptionally well.
He added that after the first five overs, they knew it would not be a 300-plus wicket. They had to scrap away and were not as fluent as usual. But reaching 265 was a hell of an effort. Brook also praised the bowlers for their consistency in line and length. That commitment, he said, ended up winning the game.
FAQs
Q. When did Joe Root reach 23,000 international runs?
A. Root reached the mark against Sri Lanka in the first ODI.
Q. How many innings did Root need to reach 23,000 runs?
A. Root reached the milestone in 521 innings.
Q. Who is the fastest to 23,000 international runs?
A. Virat Kohli reached the mark in 490 innings.
Q. How many international centuries does Joe Root have?
A. Root has scored 61 international centuries.
Q. How many Test runs has Joe Root scored?
A. Root has scored 14,278 Test runs.
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