In his recent column for The Telegraph, former England captain Michael Vaughan sees Joe Root eclipsing the Little Master in the longest format of the game. (Reuters/AP)
Joe Root marched to his 35th Test hundred on Wednesday during the first Test against Pakistan in Multan, overtaking the likes of Brian Lara, Sunil Gavaskar and Mahela Jayawardene in the hundreds bracket.
Root is now only behind Rahul Dravid (36), Kumar Sangakkara (38), Ricky Ponting (41), Jacques Kallis (45), and Sachin Tendulkar (50), who also are ahead of the English batsman in terms of the runs scored. Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes Root can end up overtaking Sachin Tendulkar in the longest format of the game.
“Joe’s love of the game means he will not be like Alastair Cook, who he overtakes into top spot. Cook retired six years ago, at almost exactly the same age – 33 – that Joe is now. But I see Joe going into his forties, like Anderson has. There is still plenty for him to tick off, including that missing hundred in Australia. But I watch him bat in Australia and do not see a major technical problem, he just has not cracked three figures yet,” Vaughan wrote in his recent column for The Telegraph.
“Root is already cricketing royalty and there is no doubt in my eyes that he has become England’s greatest batsman already. No one has played the different forms of the game better than him, and he has got the runs to show for it. If he plays as long as I am sure he will, he will overtake Sachin Tendulkar and be the leading Test run-scorer. More than just being a great player, he does it all with a smile on his face, and is simply the greatest example for young kids to follow,” he added.
Root currently has 147 Test matches under his belt and has scored over 12,500 runs for England in the format, having made his debut back in 2013.
Earlier this summer, he had breached past his former skipper Alastair Cook’s tally of 33 Test centuries. Speaking afterwards, Root had conceded that he saw himself playing the format ‘a lot longer’.
“The only reason it (Cook’s record) is on my mind is because people keep asking me about it, to be honest,” Root said. “I see myself playing test cricket for a lot longer. It’s not like I’m going to get to a certain mark or a number and say, ‘Right, I’m done now.’ I just want to keep enjoying the game, keep playing,” Root said.
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