Joe Root has equalled Alastair Cook’s record of most 100s in Tests for England. (Picture Credit: ICC)
Root, who made his Test debut for England in 2012 against India in Nagpur, now has 33 centuries to his name in 264 innings of 145 Tests.
Star England batter Joe Root has equalled former skipper Alastair Cook’s record of most 100s in Tests for England by scoring his 33rd Test century on Thursday (August 29). Root achieved the feat during the third session of the opening day’s play of the ongoing 2nd Test between England and Sri Lanka at Lord’s.
Cook, who is England’s all-time leading run scorer in Test cricket’s history, finished his career with 33 centuries in 161 matches, whereas Root has equalled his tally in his 145th match.
Most 100s for England in Tests
| POSITION | PLAYER | MATCHES | 100s |
| =1. | Joe Root | 145* | 33 |
| =1. | Alastair Cook | 161 | 33 |
| 2. | Kevin Pietersen | 104 | 23 |
| =3. | Wally Hammond | 85 | 22 |
| =3. | Colin Cowdrey | 114 | 22 |
| =3. | Geoff Boycott | 108 | 22 |
| =3. | Ian Bell | 118 | 22 |
| 4. | Andrew Strauss | 100 | 21 |
| =5. | Ken Barrington | 82 | 20 |
| =5. | Graham Gooch | 118 | 20 |
He crossed the 100-run mark with a boundary on the third ball of the 63rd over of England’s innings bowled by Lahiru Kumara.
The century on Thursday at the Home of Cricket has also helped Root overtake Indian captain Rohit Sharma and former head coach Rahul Dravid in the list of batters with most 100s in international cricket. The 33-year-old right-handed batter, who was recently dropped from the ODI side for the upcoming five-match series against Australia, has 49 centuries to his name now, which has put him on level terms with former Australian opening batter David Warner.
He has also moved to the joint No. 1 position in the list of batters with most centuries at the Lord’s for England in Tests. He has six centuries to his name at the iconic venue now. Former England captains Graham Gooch and Michael Vaughan also scored six centuries each at the Lord’s during their playing days.
Most Test hundreds at Lord’s
- 6 – Graham Gooch
- 6 – Michael Vaughan
- 6 – Joe Root
- 5 – Andrew Strauss
- 5 – Kevin Pietersen
Root, who is the all-time leading run scorer in World Test Championship (WTC) history, has also scored 16 centuries in 171 ODIs for England, which is the record for most triple-digit scores by an English batter.