Birmingham, UK

England’s Joe Root added another feather to his already impressive hat on Saturday (July 27) after he became the seventh-highest scorer in the history of Test match cricket. Root, batting on Day 2 of the Birmingham Test against the West Indies leapfrogged great Brain Lara having surpassed his tally of 11994 runs. The veteran batter also completed 12,000 Test runs and continues to rise high in the red-ball format.

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Joe Root surpasses Brian Lara

On the fifth ball of the 30th over in England’s first innings, Root got two runs from Alzarri Joseph’s bowling which saw him script history for the hosts. He got the better of Lara for the most runs scored in the red-ball format having leapfrogged him. It took the Englishman 261 innings from 143 matches to breach the great Lara’s record. Currently, Root is seventh seventh-highest scorer in the format and at 33 he still has a great chance of getting into the top two.

Most Runs in Test format

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15921 - Sachin

13378 - Ponting

13289 - Kallis

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13288 - Dravid

12472 - Cook

12400 - Sangakkara

12000 - Root

As things stand, he is less than 1400 runs shy of the second spot held by former Australia captain Ricky Ponting. However, it is unlikely that he could surpass Sachin Tendulkar’s tally which still requires more than 3800 runs.

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Root completes 12,000 Test runs

The former England captain also completed 12,000 runs not long after he had surpassed Lara’s record. He became the second England batter after Alastair Cook to score 12,000 Test runs and has a golden chance of surpassing another great batter. When compared to Cook, he is the fastest to reach 12,000 runs needing just 261 innings.

At the time of writing, Root was batting on 84 off 120 deliveries and was approaching his 33rd Test hundred. He was partnered by Jamie Smith who was batting on 37 off 38 as they narrowed the lead to less than 100 runs. Currently, England trailed by 51 runs and were 231/6 with four wickets still in hand in their first innings.