Cricket News

Former Chennai player feels Joe Root can break Sachin Tendulkar’s record

England started the three-match Test series against New Zealand on a positive note. They beat the Kiwis by five wickets in the first Test game of the series under their new captain Ben Stokes. Joe Root was the player of the match as he scored a match-winning ton during the chase in the fourth innings. His unbeaten knock of 115 ensured this victory over the Kiwis.

After this majestic ton, the whole cricket fraternity showered heaps of praises on him for his batting abilities. Former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson was also one of them as he backed the English batter to get near the records of Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar. During this test, he crossed the 10000 run mark, and became the 14th cricketer overall and only the second Englishman after Alastair Cook.

“For sure, he’s got a lot of great cricket in front of him” – Shane Watson

Speaking to Isa Guha on the ICC Review show, Watson said that Root still has a lot of cricket in front of him to reach that milestone. He said: “He’s as good as anyone to be able to get as close as he can. For sure, he’s got a lot of great cricket in front of him, so I think he is going to get very close. Just by seeing where Joe Root is right now, he is the youngest one with Kane Williamson, who is 31 as well. Those two have still got a fair way to go. I think Joe Root is going to finish on top. For the other guys, it depends on how much cricket they continue to play. They’ve still got a lot of cricket left in them,”

He also said that both Virat Kohli and Steve Smith will end their careers by grabbing a spot among all-time run-getters. “Virat Kohli and Steve Smith, they can still churn out the runs for the next three to four years. You never know, they’ll get right up there with the all-time run-scorers as well. We’ve been very fortunate to have those four in world cricket over the last six to seven years. To see them at the peak of their powers is always special,” he concluded.

Joe Root will be in action again when England will face New Zealand for the second Test match at Trent Bridge, on 10 June 2022.