Joe Root goes past legendary batter in all-time Test run chart
Joe Root crossed the milestone of 12,000 Test runs in Birmingham on Saturday and also edged past the overall run tally of Brian Lara in Test cricket.
Joe Root notched up a brilliant hundred at Edgbaston on day two of the ICC World Test Championship match against West Indies and also crossed the milestone of 12,000 runs in Test cricket.
The England middle-order batter became just the second player from his country after Alastair Cook to the landmark.
Root reached the landmark when on 60 in Birmingham, lifting the side up from trouble alongside Ben Stokes after West Indies had reduced the hosts to 54 for 5.
He was eventually dismissed for 87 with Gudakesh Motie taking the crucial wicket.
During the course of his knock, Root also went up the ladder in the all-time Test cricket run chart, edging past the legendary Brian Lara.
Lara finished with 11953 runs in Test cricket. By crossing him, Root became the seventh leading run-scorer in the history of Test cricket. He had begun the series at 10th position, before going past the likes of Mahela Jayawardene, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and now Lara.
Most runs in Test cricket
| Player | Runs in Test cricket |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 15921 |
| Ricky Ponting | 13378 |
| Jacques Kallis | 13289 |
| Rahul Dravid | 13288 |
| Alastair Cook | 12472 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | 12400 |
| Joe Root | 12027 |
| Brian Lara | 11953 |
| Shivnarine Chnaderpaul | 11867 |
| Mahela Jayawardene | 11814 |
Root (1023 runs) also went close to Yashasvi Jaiswal (1028 runs) in the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle run charts.
The Indian opener and Root are the only two players to make over 1000 runs in this cycle of the WTC. Zak Crawley, with 984 runs (after England's first innings in Birmingham) is at third position.