Joe Root reached the elite 10,000-run club with a sensational century in the fourth innings of the Lord's Test against New Zealand.
Powered by Root's phenomenal effort, England won the match by 5 wickets and go one up in the three-match series. Root became only the 14th player in the history of Test cricket to achieve the feat.
He also became the joint-youngest player with Cook at 31 years and 157 days to reach the landmark.
List of players who have reached the 10,000-run landmark
After he delivered yet another win for England, he received a hero's welcome with all his teammates hugging and congratulating him for the tremendous accomplishment.
+
Over the years, Root has established himself as the go-to player for England in the test side. Amidst all the losses, the collapses, the changes, one thing remained constant - the runs kept coming for Joe Root.
He was, is, and will always be the calm in the chaos for this English Test side. He is the glue that holds the lineup together, and without him, the side risks losing its very soul.
He might have stepped down from the captaincy, but numbers-wise, he is the greatest test captain England has ever had. He has led the team in 64 test matches and won 27 out of them. As a batsman, Root scored 5295 in 118 innings with 14 hundreds and 26 fifties.
Well, these stats are impressive, of course. But wait till you look at his record in 2021. Root amassed 1708 runs in 15 matches. Hit 6 tons, 4 fifties, with the highest score of 228. He was the highest run-getter in 2021 and was also named the ICC Men's Test Cricketer of the Year.
Fair to say, he is in a league of his own. The Lord's Test vs NZ was just another instance that proved the worth Joe carries with him in the English Test side.
After all, he is, was, and will always be the calm in the chaos for England.
