London, Aug 16: Joe Root, the English batting maestro, has become the seventh highest run-scorer in Test cricket history after crossing the 12,000-run milestone during the recent Edgbaston Test against the West Indies. This achievement places him among the elite group of only seven players in the traditional format to reach such a feat.
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting believes that Root could surpass the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the most runs in Test cricket, provided he remains motivated and continues his current form for the next few years.
With 12,027 runs in 143 Tests at an average of 50.11, including 32 centuries and 63 fifties, Root is within striking distance of overtaking Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara (12,400 runs) and former England teammate Alastair Cook (12,472 runs) on the all-time run-scorers list. However, Tendulkar’s monumental record of 15,921 runs from 200 Tests still stands as the ultimate challenge.
Ponting, who is second on the list with 13,378 runs from 168 Tests, expressed his thoughts on Root’s potential in an interview with *The ICC Review*: “He could potentially do it. At 33 years old and more than 3,000 runs behind, it depends on how many Test matches England plays. If they’re playing 10 to 14 Test matches a year, and he’s scoring 800 to 1,000 runs annually, he could close the gap in three to four years, which would take him to about 37 years of age.”
Ponting emphasized that Root’s success will hinge on his hunger for runs. “If his hunger is still there, then there’s every chance that he could do it. He has improved significantly over the past couple of years, and there’s been a notable increase in his conversion rate from half-centuries to big hundreds,” Ponting noted.
Root has indeed shown remarkable progress, overcoming earlier struggles to convert fifties into hundreds. Ponting acknowledged this improvement, stating, “Four or five years ago, he was making a lot of 50s but struggled to turn them into big scores. Lately, almost every time he reaches 50, he goes on to make a substantial hundred. That’s been the real turnaround for him.”
As Root continues to inch closer to Tendulkar’s record, the cricketing world will be watching closely to see if he can maintain his form and ultimately rewrite history.