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Root surpasses Graham Gooch, stands behind only Cook on list of England's leading run-scorers

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Joe Root has gone past former England captain Graham Gooch on the list of leading run-scorers for England in Test cricket. Gooch has 8,900 runs to his name while Root breached the mark with two boundaries off Ishant Sharma on the second day of the Lord’s Test against India.

He needed 14 runs to surpass Gooch and he did that in 16 innings fewer than Gooch to reach the landmark. Gooch had taken 215 innings to amass 8,900 runs at an average of 42.58 with 20 centuries and 46 fifties. Root, on the other hand, has taken just 196 innings to go past his runs tally.

Root now stand just after Sir Alastair Cook on the list of leading run-scorers.. Cook had taken 291 innings to pile on 12, 472 runs in the longest format at an average of 45.35 with 33 centuries and 57 half-centuries.

Root has not had a great time in home Tests but came roaring back to form in the last Test against India at Trent Bridge. It was his efforts with the bat in the second innings that reduced England from a position of trailing by 95 runs. England are once again reliant on his bat in reply to India’s 364 in the first innings of the ongoing Lord’s Test.

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