Joe Root insists he has MORE runs in the tank as he surpasses Sir Alastair Cook to become England’s leading Test centurion with 34th hundred against Sri Lanka
Joe Root insisted he had plenty of runs left in the tank after his record 34th Test hundred cemented England’s control of the second Test against Sri Lanka.
Having equalled Alastair Cook’s tally of 33 in the first innings, Root pulled clear in the second, becoming only the fourth player – after George Headley, Graham Gooch and Michael Vaughan – to score two centuries in a Lord’s Test.
‘It feels good,’ he said, with typical understatement.
‘It will sink in at some point, but I feel like there’s a lot of cricket still to go in me and it’s just another good day where I’ve managed to help us get into a real position of strength.’
Dubbed England’s greatest played by both Cook and Vaughan, Root said: ‘It’s nice to get plaudits like that off two of England’s greatest players, but I have a lot more work to do.’
Joe Root insisted he had plenty of runs left in the tank after his record 34th Test hundred
Root was watched by his dad (right), Matt, as well as wife Carrie and children Alfie and Isabella
He needs only 96 more runs to overtake Sir Alastair Cook’s tally of 12,472 to become England’s all-time leading runs scorer
Root, who needs only 96 more runs to overtake Cook’s tally of 12,472 and become England’s leading Test run-scorer, was watched by his dad, Matt, as well as wife Carrie and children Alfie and Isabella.
‘I nearly blanked my dad,’ he said, ‘but it was really nice to share that moment with them.’
On Saturday, Cook praised as a ‘genius’ and claimed that he was ‘England’s greatest’
After being hailed by Michael Vaughan and Cook Root said that it was ‘nice to get plaudits like that off two of England’s greatest players’
Sri Lanka’s batting coach and former England player Ian Bell, whom Root replaced at the crease on his Test debut against India at Nagpur in December 2012, said his former team-mate had been ‘awesome to watch’.
He added: ‘When he hits that kind of rhythm, he’s one of the best, if not the best, in the world. It’s great to see him go past Cooky, and he has so much more to give to England.’
