England batter Joe Root has made history by becoming the first English player to score 1,000 or more Test runs at three separate home venues. He completed the milestone during the on-going 2nd Test match against New Zealand at the Oval. The Three Lions are 1-0 ahead in the 3-match series.
Before this match, Joe Root had already crossed the 1,000-run mark at Lord’s and Headingley. By reaching this landmark at the Oval, Root joined an elite list of cricketers who have achieved this feat at three different stadiums.
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Globally, only a few legendary batsmen have done this, including India’s Sachin Tendulkar and Australia’s Don Bradman, Allan Border, and Steve Smith.
The achievement is incredibly rare for English cricket. Despite England playing Test matches for 149 years, no other batsman from the country had ever managed to score 1,000 runs across three different home grounds.
Other than his 1048-run tally at the Oval, Joe Root has amassed 2175 runs in 21 outings at the iconic Lord’s stadium and 1128 runs across 12 Test matches at the Old Trafford in Manchester. Former legends like Graham Gooch and Sir Alastair Cook, who have scored 1000+ runs each across two different venues, were never able to achieve this feat.
Overall, Joe Root’s 75 off 137 balls in England’s 2nd innings helped him become just the 4th batter in the world to touch the 1000-run mark at the Oval. Moreover, the elegant right-hand batter became just the 2nd batter ever to score 14,000 Test runs after Sachin Tendulkar and also overtook Virat Kohli to become the second highest international run-scorer against New Zealand.
Meanwhile, New Zealand has put themselves in a dominant position heading into the final day at the Oval. After scoring 350-plus in both innings, the visitors collapsed from 252/3 to 362 all out on day four, setting England a monumental world-record target of 463 runs to win.
England’s chase started terribly, crumbling to 40/3 against a relentless Kiwi pace attack. Interim captain Joe Root led a counter-attack, crossing 14,000 Test runs during his unbeaten 75. He added 97 runs with Harry Brook (50), but late strikes reduced England to 182/5 at stumps, still requiring 281 runs with only five wickets left.
England Vs New Zealand, 2nd Test: Playing XIs
England XI: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root (C), Harry Brook, James Rew, Jordan Cox, Jofra Archer, Matthew Fisher, Josh Tongue and Sonny Baker.
New Zealand XI: Tom Latham (C), Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (WK), Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry and Will O’Rourke
