Joe Root celebrates after scoring his 34th Test century. (Picture Credit: AP)
Root, who is playing in his 145th Test match for England against Sri Lanka at the Lord’s, has 34 centuries to his name now, which is the most by any English batter.
Joe Root has created history on Saturday (August 31) by becoming the first English batter in history to score 34 Test centuries. The right-handed batter achieved the feat during the second innings of the ongoing second Test between England and Sri Lanka at Lord’s. The former England captain had equalled former skipper Alastair Cook’s record of 33 centuries in the first innings by amassing a total of 143 runs from 206 balls, and by scoring a century again in the second innings, he has leapfrogged him to become the sole owner of the No. 1 position.
It was the first time in history that Root has managed to score a century in both innings of a Test match.
The century in the second innings of the Lord’s Test also helped Root become the first English batter in history to score 50 centuries in international cricket. Apart from 34 Test hundreds, he has 16 ODI centuries to his name, which is also a record.
Most 100s for England in Tests
| POSITION | PLAYER | MATCHES | 100s |
| 1. | Joe Root | 145* | 34 |
| 2. | Alastair Cook | 161 | 33 |
| 3. | Kevin Pietersen | 104 | 23 |
| =4. | Wally Hammond | 85 | 22 |
| =4. | Colin Cowdrey | 114 | 22 |
| =4. | Geoff Boycott | 108 | 22 |
| =4. | Ian Bell | 118 | 22 |
| 5. | Andrew Strauss | 100 | 21 |
During his stay at the crease in the second innings, Root also broke Cook’s record of most runs for England in Tests against Sri Lanka. Cook had hammered 1290 runs in 16 Tests vs Sri Lanka, whereas Root now has close to 1350 runs to his name in 12 matches.
The 33-year-old right-handed batter also broke England legend Graham Gooch’s record of 2015 runs to become the leading run scorer in Test matches at the Lord’s, and his second century of the ongoing second Test helped him become the first player to score seven Test centuries at the Home of Cricket.
Most Test hundreds at Lord’s
- 7 – Joe Root
- 6 – Graham Gooch
- 6 – Michael Vaughan
- 5 – Andrew Strauss
- 5 – Kevin Pietersen
Gooch and Michael Vaughan are now in the second position with six centuries each to their name at the iconic venue.
The world No. 1 Test batter will now look to become the first batter in the world to score 5000 runs in World Test Championship (WTC) history and also break former England skipper Kumar Sangakkara’s record of 12,400 runs to become the sixth-leading run scorer in Tests history.