Ashes 2nd Test: Joe Root Overtakes Alastair Cook To Become The Highest Run Scorer As English Test Captain

During his stay of 24 in the second innings of second Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval, Joe Root overtook former skipper Sir Alastair Cook for the record of most runs by an England captain in Test cricket.

Root has surpassed Cook's tally of 4844 runs as the Test captain of the team in his 58th match as the skipper - completing the feat in one match and five innings quicker than his captaincy predecessor, to be at 4859 runs at an average of 47.63.

Root, currently ranked number one Test batter in the world, is enjoying a sublime run-making spree with the bat. He is the leading run-scorer in Test cricket in 2021, amassing 1630 runs in 14 Tests and though his stay at the crease was cut short on Sunday, Root will get a chance to add more to his tally in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne.

"Another one gone to Joe Root - I haven't got many left. He's slowly but surely edging his way into England's greatest batsman and he is pretty much there," said Cook on BT Sport.

Earlier, during his knock of 62 in the first innings at the Adelaide Oval, Root went past Indian legends Sachin Tendulkar (1562 runs in 2010), Sunil Gavaskar (1555 runs in 1979) and former Australia captain Michael Clarke (1595 runs in 2012) to be at fourth place for most Test runs in a year.

He also became only the second captain after Graeme Smith (1656 runs in 2008) to score 1600+ runs in a year in Test cricket. Root is just behind former Pakistan batter Mohammad Yousuf, who made a jaw-dropping 1788 in just 11 Tests in 2006 at an average of 99.33, followed by West Indies legend Viv Richards, who scored 1710 runs in 11 Tests at an average of 90.00 in 1976 and former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith, who amassed 1656 runs in 15 innings at an average of 72.

The 30-year-old Root is already the highest run-scoring England player in a single calendar year of Test cricket, having gone past former captain Michael Vaughan's 1871 runs in 2002 during the first Ashes Test in Brisbane.