Joe Root equals Ricky Ponting’s record for third-most Test centuries during Ashes final
The right-handed batter scored his 41st Test hundred at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Monday, achieving the milestone in his 163rd Test match.
The right-handed batter scored his 41st Test hundred at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Monday, achieving the milestone in his 163rd Test match.
The world’s top-ranked Test batter had endured three previous Ashes tours Down Under without tasting success, but that personal drought finally ended as England chased down a target of 175 in a dramatic two-day contest.
With the opening Test in Perth starting November 21, Root has again become a focal point in local discussions, especially given that he has yet to score a Test century in Australia.
Root heads into the series holding a firm lead at the top of the ICC Test batting rankings, but the seasoned campaigner has yet to conquer one of his biggest hurdles, performing consistently against Australia away from home.
While Root is winless in Tests against the Aussies away from home across 14 previous contests, it's the fact he has never scored a century on Australian shores that still concerns the 34-year-old heading into this year's tour.
Former England captain Joe Root has reclaimed the top position in the ICC Test batting rankings within a week of losing it to teammate Harry Brook, who dipped to third while India’s skipper Shubman Gill slipped three places to the ninth.
England star batter Joe Root is one busy man. Every Test match he is in, the batter continues chasing legends and breaking records. Some more records and moving up the charts could be on his way during the second Test against India at Edgbaston.
The fifth Test between India and England, starting Thursday at the picturesque Himachal town of Dharamsala, will mark a century of Test appearances from either side -- with Ashwin becoming the 14th Indian and Jonny Bairstow, the 17th Englishman to don 100 Test caps.
While Bairstow has managed only 102 runs in six innings, Root’s bat has produced a mere 77 runs from the three Tests so far, begging questions on the duo’s place in the side for the fourth Test.
Importantly, though, it was only England's third defeat of the Bazball regime, which meant that you couldn’t really dip your pain in acid and write disdainfully of Brendon McCullum, the coach who preaches hyper-aggressive Test cricket or Ben Stokes, the captain who made himself conspicuous with his rash first-day declaration.
