Relentless Joe Root breaks England Test runs record with century in Pakistan

Joe Root overhauled Sir Alastair Cook to become England’s record Test run-scorer then marked the achievement with an iron-willed century as the tourists hit back in their series opener against Pakistan.

Needing 71 to overtake Cook’s mark of 12,472, Root carried his bat for the entirety of day three to carve out 176 not out in Multan.

It was a masterclass of endurance occupying eight hours and one minute, with Root defying the debilitating effects of cramp and fatigue to deliver for his team.

It was a fitting way to surpass Cook – the former captain who handed him a debut in Nagpur 11 years ago – and neatly summed up the drive, desire and determination which have propelled him to the summit.

He now sits fifth on the all-time list, bettered only by Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar, and the Yorkshireman’s insatiable hunger means he is already being tipped to top the lot.

It was a perfect pitch for Root to achieve the feat – stubbornly flat and with barely a hint of seam or swing to ruffle the batters’ feathers – but England still needed their most reliable asset to come good.

Having watched Pakistan pile up 556 over the first two days, there was no other choice.

They reached stumps just 64 behind on 492 for three, Harry Brook adding a dashing 141no in a bumper stand worth 243 and counting.

Yet it will be a challenge for either side to force a result unless the surface begins to offer more assistance for the bowlers than it has thus far.

Root’s only real impediment to stockpiling his 35th century was the physical demands of his epic stint under the Punjabi sun.

He joined his team-mates for 149 draining overs in the field, including seven of his own off-spin, and came to the crease in the second over of England’s reply.

In all, he has spent exactly eight deliveries off the pitch since play began on Monday morning and was forced to take on regular hydration gels, cold drinks and muscle stretches just to keep going.

Each of his partners batted with greater fluency and grander strike-rates – Zak Crawley making 78 off 85 balls, Ben Duckett adding 84 in 75 and Brook scoring his hundred off just 118 – but Root was the backbone.

For a player who now boasts 99 scores of 50 or more and has occupied the crease for more than 545 hours over the course of his career, it was par for the course.

Root started his work on 32 and was in no rush to begin chipping away at the 39 he needed to see off Cook.

He took just three singles in the opening half-hour, allowing Crawley then Duckett to take the role of aggressor as he settled in for the long haul.

While Root has five Test hundreds in 2024, Crawley and Duckett have only one between them despite passing 70 on nine other occasions.

Crawley played round his front pad and pinged Shaheen Shah Afrdidi to short midwicket and Duckett, for a while untameable, was lbw to Aamer Jamal.

The latter’s emergence at number four had been a major relief, allaying fears over the thumb injury that prevented him opening the batting on Tuesday evening.

Root reached his landmark moment just before lunch, a flowing straight drive off Jamal skipping away for four and bringing the most muted of celebrations.

There was a glove punch with Duckett, who offered a pat on the shoulder, and a brief wave of the bat towards the cheering balcony.

Nine years after Cook inherited the record from Graham Gooch, and in front of another previous owner in the former of commentator David Gower, it once again had a new home.

It seemed inevitable that Root would mark the occasion with a century, even with his growing discomfort, and he was still moving well enough to get there with a reverse sweep. There was just enough energy to take off helmet, kiss the badge and raise his bat aloft.

Brook’s arrival brought an added lease of life and another flurry of boundaries as he briefly threatened to catch up Root despite the latter’s head start of 82.

He was playing with such freedom that, when Pakistan removed mid-off, he simply gave himself room and sent a pair of forehand smashes through the vacant area for four.

At the other end Root allowed himself some devilment, switching to a left-handed stance in an attempt to scramble the struggling Abrar Ahmed.

Pakistan could not get a break, Brook deflecting the ball into his stumps on 75 only for the bails to stay fixed and the relentless Root given the benefit of the doubt on 167 when Naseem Shah had a close lbw shout.

By the time the Yorkshire duo dragged themselves off the field undefeated the match totals stood at 1,048 runs scored for 13 wickets – brutal reading for the bowlers’ union on a day that belonged to England’s benchmark batter.