Uncovering the Untold Story Behind Root's Pursuit of Sachin's Record

Former Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting believes that England's Joe Root has the potential to surpass Sachin Tendulkar's record of most Test runs, a title the Indian legend has held since 2008. Ponting pointed out that Root, at 33 years old and more than 3000 runs behind Tendulkar, could achieve this milestone if he continues to play 10 to 14 Test matches a year and scores 800 to 1000 runs annually. Ponting's analysis suggests that Root could potentially break the record in the next three to four years, taking him to age 37.

Virat Kohli and Steve Smith are 35. Even if fitness permits, it’s difficult to see either of them outlasting Root. Kane Williamson is 34 and a 100-plus runs behind Kohli on the all-time list, but he too isn’t expected to give Root a close chase primarily because New Zealand’s Test calendar is rarely as busy as India, Australia or England. Considering batters have longer careers, Root thus is more or less certain to emerge as the highest run-scorer among the Fab Four. But does that necessarily make him the most prolific, or even the best, batter of this era? Let’s break down the numbers.

Root, Smith and Williamson are level with 32 hundreds while Kohli has 29 centuries. Move to the fifties column though, and Root has a clear edge with 63 half-centuries, almost a country mile ahead of Smith (41), Williamson (34) and Kohli (30). Across the length of decade-plus careers thus, the accumulative effect of the fifties has no doubt consistently shored up Root’s Test curve even though he was scoring relatively fewer hundreds in the initial years.

Things started changing from 2019 though. For starters, Root played his last T20I for England that year. Of the 54 ODIs England have played since winning the 2019 ODI World Cup, Root has featured in 40. So while he can’t strictly be called a Test specialist, Root has definitely got more time than Kohli, Smith and Williamson to preserve himself for the longest format. And that has reflected in his Test returns as well, especially in 2021 when he aggregated 1708 runs — the third-highest ever by a batter in a calendar year.

More opportunities came Root’s way too. In the last five years, England have played more Tests (61) than India (46) and Australia (44) and Root has evidently made the most of it. While he has been England’s mainstay in the subcontinent, Root’s highest returns during this time have come at home, New Zealand and in the West Indies. Not to forget how the four-way race was also derailed at different times due to Smith getting banned for a year in the aftermath of the ball-tampering scandal and Kohli not scoring a Test hundred for more than three years.

Also crucial has been the recent spike in Root’s conversion rate. Before the 2019 ODI World Cup, Root had scored 16 Test hundreds and 41 fifties. Since then, he has scored 16 hundreds and 22 fifties. “Four or five years ago, he was making a lot of 50s and struggling to go on and make hundreds and he’s gone the other way recently,” said Ponting. “Almost every time he gets to 50 now, he goes on and makes a big hundred. So that’s been the real turnaround for him.”

To be fair, Kohli, Smith and Williamson have displayed this level of conversion throughout their careers. On first look, Virat and Williamson’s numbers give the vibe that maybe they have missed out on some fifties but their conversion rates (a hundred almost every second fifty) are comparable to some of the best ever — Mohammad Azharduddin had 22 hundreds and 21 fifties, Michael Clarke 28 hundreds and 27 fifties, Mathew Hayden 30 hundreds and 29 fifties, Younis Khan 34 hundreds and 33 fifties.

A more convincing argument is the way the Fab Four have scored their hundreds. Kohli averages one every 6.58 innings despite that three-year lull, Smith every 6.09 innings despite that one-year ban while Williamson averages a staggering 5.5 innings. Root, despite the recent upturn, still averages a hundred every 8.15 innings. Pit that against Tendulkar (6.45), Ponting (7), Kumar Sangakkara (6.13), Khan (6.26), Sunil Gavaskar (6.29), Lara (6.82) and Hayden (6.13) and it’s clear that Root faces an uphill task of keeping up his current form for the rest of his foreseeable career to not only break Tendulkar’s record but also catch up with Kohli, Smith and Williamson on other fronts.

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