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On the third day of England’s opening Test in Pakistan, Joe Root surpassed Alastair Cook on the all-time Test run-scorers list, now only trailing three players in total. The question remains: how high will he climb before retiring?
Root’s achievement on Wednesday (9 October) not only elevated him past Cook but also established him as England’s leading Test run-scorer in history.
After Pakistan declared with a hefty score of 556, England faced a significant challenge to reclaim control of the match.Root’s crucial partnerships with Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett were instrumental in helping England potentially avoid the follow-on. He broke Cook’s record (12,472 runs) when he scored his 71st run of the innings, a four that brought his total to 12,473 runs.
Next in Root’s sights is Rahul Dravid, who has accumulated 13,288 runs, just one run shy of Jacques Kallis‘s 13,289. If Root can close the approximately 800-run gap to Dravid, he will simultaneously surpass Kallis, placing him third on the all-time list.
With two Tests in Pakistan, three in New Zealand, and a five-Test home series against India, plus a one-off Test against Zimbabwe, Root could leapfrog two positions by the end of the 2025 home summer, assuming his current scoring pace continues.
If he falls short, he is expected to overcome both Dravid and Kallis during the 2025/26 Ashes series.
Following Kallis on the list is Ricky Ponting, who is 89 runs adrift (13,378 runs). Root should have the opportunity to surpass Ponting during the 2025/26 Ashes, as he has 16 Tests scheduled between now and the end of that series to close the nearly 900-run gap.
Root’s career average sits at around 50 runs, but he has performed notably better than that over the last two years. If he continues to score at his current rate, he should pass Ponting by the end of the Ashes unless injuries or there’s a significant decline in form.
Can Root go past Sachin?
Sachin Tendulkar‘s all-time record (15,921 runs) sits a daunting 2,543 runs above Ponting. Closing this gap will be a formidable challenge, especially since Root will turn 35 during the Ashes next year.
After the remaining 16 Tests, the ICC Future Tours Programme has England set for three Tests in Sri Lanka, followed by a 2026 home summer featuring three Tests against both New Zealand and Pakistan. England will also play three away Tests in South Africa in 2026, resulting in nine additional Tests after the Ashes by the end of that year.
Based on his average of approximately 90 runs per Test over the past four years, Root would need to participate in roughly 40 more matches to surpass Tendulkar’s record. With England likely to play over 12 Tests a year, Root would have around 28 matches scheduled between now and the end of 2026.
This trajectory suggests he would need to continue playing until at least the end of 2027, when he would be 37, to have a shot at Tendulkar’s record.
It is worth noting that in the modern era, it is quite rare for English batters to compete in Test cricket beyond their 36th birthday.
In fact, this century, only Alec Stewart has played more than a few Tests for England after turning 36. While the demanding nature of England’s international cricket schedule contributes to this rarity, as evidenced by James Anderson’s successful career extending to age 41, it shows that with careful planning, continuing at the top level is indeed possible.
Most runs in Test cricket:
Sachin Tendulkar – 15,921 runs
Ricky Ponting – 13,378 runs
Jacques Kallis – 13,289 runs
Rahul Dravid – 13,288 runs
Joe Root – 12,500* runs (at the time of writing)
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