Joe RootNew Zealand’s outing in the 2nd Test was not one of those innings that usually finds a place in the highlights package.Scores of 21 and 18 at Trent Bridge did little to prevent England slipping to a 1-2 series defeat after taking an early lead. Ben Stokes’ decision to retire from Test cricket dominated the headlines and England were left searching for answers after another series that promised much but delivered little. By the time the match ended, however, another number had quietly moved on.Root’s career tally now stands at 14,114 Test runs from 166 Tests. Only one man has scored more runs in the history of Test cricket. Sachin TendulkarThe count of 15,921, once comfortably out of sight, is now 1,807 short.By itself, this does not necessarily make it a record under threat. Cricket has been there before.When Ricky Ponting crossed 13,000 runs, there was talk of whether he could reach it. The same happened when Jacques Kallis kept piling on the runs season after season. Kumar Sangakkara’s extraordinary end to his career briefly reopened the debate. Alastair Cook, England’s highest run-scorer before Root, played 161 Tests and retired with more than 12,000 runs.One by one, go up the list. One by one, they finished well short.For most of the last decade, Tendulkar’s record has been exactly where it was when he retired in 2013 – visible, admired and rarely discussed as something that could realistically be broken.However, Root changed that. Not only because he reached 14,000 runs, but he passed everyone else.
To put it simply, the chase is on and the obvious way to see the chase is through simple arithmetic. Root needs another 1,807 runs and England have a packed Test schedule for the next two seasons.He remains his first batsman and, unlike many players in his mid-thirties, there has been little sign of a sustained decline in form or fitness. And given how he is accumulating runs, the record could be seen in another 18 to 21 Tests if he maintains his career scoring rate.But can it eventually reach that mark? And where is he currently placed in the pursuit compared to others who may have had a chance to reach the top?Take Ponting, Kallis or Cook.All three went through 12,000 trials. All three years spent among the main boats in the world. However, by the time they reached their mid-thirties, the gap to Tendulkar had become too great. They were still flowing, but not quickly enough to seriously threaten the record.And this is where Root is different. At 35, he has already amassed more runs than Tendulkar had managed at the same age.
To some extent, age is an unusual way of comparing batting careers. Most records are measured in games, innings, or runs. Yet age often tells a different story.Tendulkar made his Test debut at 16 and spent almost a quarter of a century in international cricket. Root came much later, at 21, but has scored at such a consistent rate over the last decade that he has effectively erased that five-year start.This is what makes this pursuit different from others. For the first time since Tendulkar’s retirement, the record is not being discussed because another batsman has reached a milestone.However, there is another side to the story. Because while Root is ahead on the timeline, many of the batting numbers that define greatness still belong to Tendulkar.Tendulkar’s career average is higher. He scored more runs every time he went to bat. He reached major milestones in fewer innings and converted fifties into hundreds more often.Even when Root became the youngest batsman to 10,000 test runs, Tendulkar had reached the landmark in fewer innings. The same pattern continued at 14,000. Root was younger. Tendulkar got there sooner.
And what has really worked in Root’s favor is the fact that England have played more Test cricket than almost any other side in the last decade. Root has rarely missed a match. More importantly, it rarely disappears for long.Any large pasta goes through thin pieces. Ponting did it. Cook did it. Even Tendulkar had periods when hundreds dried up. Root’s remarkable consistency since 2021 prevented that from happening.He continued to score runs regardless of the opposition or the conditions and, just as importantly, he continued to make himself available. An innings becomes another Test. A series becomes another home summer. Over fourteen years, these extra opportunities have accumulated into an advantage that none of Tendulkar’s previous challengers have been able to build upon.
After 25 Tests, Root established himself in England’s middle order. At 50, he had crossed 4,000 runs. And the cuts kept coming – 75 Tests, 100 Tests, 125 and then 150. At each stage, the gap between him and Tendulkar narrowed, not because of one spectacular season, but because the build-up never really stops.There are other comparisons that underline how the two careers developed differently.
Tendulkar scored more Test runs away from home than he did in India, a slightly better average overseas than on familiar grounds. It remains one of the least celebrated aspects of his career.The Root split is different. His strongest numbers came in England, although one opposition shaped his record more than any other. Against India, Root scored more than 3,300 Test runs and 13 centuries, making it the most productive rivalry of his career. Australia remain the only major opponent against whom their returns do not match well with the rest of their record.While these numbers help explain the career, they don’t necessarily explain the record. Therefore, it helps to look at how much Tendulkar has scored after the age of 35. By the time Tendulkar turned 35, he had already achieved almost everything a Test batsman could hope for. He had crossed 12,000 runs, but had almost 4,000 more to go.Those years rarely dominate the conversation around Tendulkar’s career. Fans remember the direct road in Perth, the duels with Shane Warne and the Desert Storm innings in Sharjah, even if they came in one-day cricket. The disc itself, however, was protected from what happened next.He continued to play. He continued to score.
And this is the phase that Root has just entered. The numbers suggest he has given himself the best chance any batsman has had since Tendulkar’s retirement.They do not guarantee anything beyond that. The remaining 1,807 runs are unlikely to be decided by a prolific summer or an overseas tour. They will depend on something that is much more difficult to predict: fitness, selection, and if Root can avoid the gradual decline that eventually catches every Test batter.England’s schedule certainly gives him the opportunity.
And that’s why Root’s quest feels different from those surrounding Ponting, Kallis or Cook. Previous challengers have tried to catch Tendulkar’s total. Root has already taken the career stage that matters.What lies ahead is the phase that made 15,921 possible in the first place. If it ends there, it will be known only in the next two or three years.For now, one thing has changed.For more than a decade, Tendulkar’s record has been untouched because no one has been able to reach this point with enough runs already behind them.Root has, and the hunt is no longer hypothetical. It finally got real.
