“Genius with consistency” – Sir Alastair Cook pays tribute to Joe Root for surpassing him as England’s leading run-scorer in Tests

Former England captain Sir Alastair Cook paid tribute to Joe Root for surpassing him as the leading run-scorer for the country in Tests. Cook called him a 'genius with consistency' following Root’s record in the ongoing first Test against Pakistan in Multan.

Notably, Root eclipsed Cook as he scored his 71st run with a boundary. Cook had scored 12,472 runs in 161 Tests (291 innings) with the help of 33 tons and 57 half-centuries. Root achieved the milestone in his 147th Test (268th innings). No other England player has scored over 10,000 runs in the red-ball format.

Sir Alastair Cook said (via BBC Test Match Special):

“There are other geniuses, who can play genius innings. But Root is a genius with consistency.”

Joe Root had recently overtaken Cook (33) for most Test tons by an England player.

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“Close to topping that” – Brad Hogg backs Joe Root to break Sachin Tendulkar’s record in Tests

Former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg has backed Joe Root to break Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the most runs in Test cricket.

He said on his YouTube channel (via Indian Express):

“Joe Root has 146 Test matches with 12,000 runs. Sachin Tendulkar made nearly 16,000 runs in 200 Test matches. That’s 4,000 runs in 66 Tests. I think Joe Root can go close to toppling that. Watch out, Joe Root is on the move to beat Sachin Tendulkar. I think quietly he’ll have that in the back of his mind to try and topple that little unique stat.”

Tendulkar scored 15,921 runs in 200 Tests with the aid of 51 tons and 68 half-centuries. The top five list also includes Ricky Ponting (13,378), Jaques Kallis (13,289), and Rahul Dravid (13,288).

Since 2021, Root is the leading run-scorer in Test cricket. The 33-year-old has scored over 4600 runs in 91 innings, hitting 17 tons and 16 fifties.

As far as the match is concerned, England were 249/3, with Root (82 off 100) and Harry Brook at the crease.

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