England star Joe Root achieves historic landmark in World Test Championship

Joe Root of England celebrates reaching his century during Day Three of the 4th Rothesay Test Match between England and India at Emirates Old Trafford on July 25, 2025 in Manchester, England. - AFP

LONDON: England’s veteran batter Joe Root etched his name in history on Sunday by becoming the first player to score 6,000 runs in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC).

The 34-year-old achieved the landmark during the ongoing five-Test series against India, marking yet another milestone in his illustrious career.

Root featured in his 69th WTC Test, remained the tournament’s leading run-scorer, having participated in all four editions since its inception.

Root’s remarkable WTC record includes 20 centuries and 23 half-centuries at an average of over 52.

He topped a star-studded list that includes Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Ben Stokes, and Travis Head in the top five run-scorers.

This milestone adds to a series of achievements for the former England captain. Earlier in Manchester, Root surpassed legends Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and Ricky Ponting to become the second-highest run-scorer in men’s Test cricket.

He is now joint-fourth on the list of most centuries in Test cricket, with 38, sharing the spot with Kumar Sangakkara.

Additionally, Root holds the record for the most catches as an outfield player in the format, a feat he achieved during the current series.

Most runs in World Test Championship:

69* matches: Joe Root - 6000* runs

55 matches: Steve Smith - 4278 runs

56 matches: Marnus Labuschagne - 4225 runs

57 matches: Ben Stokes - 3616 runs

52 matches: Travis Head - 3300 runs

For the unversed, at the time of filing this story, England were 232/3 in their second innings while chasing a target of 374. Joe Root and Harry Brook were unbeaten, having scored half-centuries.

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