During the second Test against the West Indies at Trent Bridge on July 21, Joe Root hit his 32nd Test century on Day 4. With this milestone, the English star now shares the lead for the most Test hundreds among active players with Kane Williamson and Steve Smith. Virat Kohli is currently the only member of the 'Fab-4' yet to reach 30 centuries, standing at 29. Root's dominant batting helped England carve out a significant lead in the match.
England’s star batsman Joe Root scored his 32nd Test century on Day 4 of the second Test against the West Indies at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Sunday, July 21. Root has now equaled the tally with the Kiwi veteran batter Kane Williamson and Australia’s Steve Smith for the most Test hundreds among active players. India’s Virat Kohli is the only batter in the ‘Fab-4’ who is currently behind in this ranking, having only scored 29 tons in red-ball cricket. Root’s century has helped the English team build a comfortable lead over the Windies.
Joe Root has now set a new English record by reaching 32 Test centuries faster than Alastair Cook. On a global scale, he is the third fastest player to hit this mark, requiring only 260 innings. He currently leads all active players in total Test runs. Additionally, Root has tied the record for most centuries scored by an Englishman against the West Indies (six) and at the Trent Bridge venue (five). In terms of overall runs and centuries for England, he is second only to Cook.
England opened the match with a first-innings score of 416, highlighted by Ollie Pope's 121. The West Indies responded strongly with 457, aided by a century from Kavem Hodge and half-centuries from Joshua Da Silva and Alick Athanaze. However, Root's second-innings century—finishing at 122—shifted the momentum back to England, giving them a commanding advantage. This innings could prove decisive, potentially securing a 2-0 series victory for the hosts.
Among the Fab-4, Kohli is currently the only batsman who hasn't reached the 30-century milestone, while Root, Smith, and Williamson have all hit 32. Kohli will be looking to close this gap during the upcoming series against Bangladesh.
Joe Root is now within 60 runs of hitting the 12,000-run milestone in Test cricket, an elite club consisting of only six players in history. Former England skipper Michael Vaughan has expressed confidence that Root has what it takes to eventually overtake Sachin Tendulkar's all-time Test run record.
The 33-year-old requires another 3,982 runs to surpass Tendulkar's legendary total. More imminently, however, he is closing in on becoming England's highest run-scorer of all time. Alastair Cook currently holds that title with 12,472 runs (including 33 centuries and 57 fifties) over 291 innings at an average of 46.95. Root follows in sixth place overall with 11,940 runs, comprising 32 centuries and 62 fifties.