Joe Root completes 6,500 runs in ICC World Test Championship
What's the story
Star England batter Joe Root added another feather to his cap, completing 6,500 ICC World Test Championship (WTC) runs. Root reached the landmark on Day 2 of the ongoing 2nd Test against New Zealand at Kennington Oval, London. Root is one of the two players to score 4,500-plus runs in the World Test Championship with Steve Smith (4,564) being the other. Here's more.
Numbers
Root's incredible numbers
Root touched the 6,500-run mark in his 76th WTC match. Across 139 innings, the English batter has an average of over 51. His tally of 23 tons is also the most in WTC history. Australia's Smith follows Root with 14 tons. The latter has an outstanding conversion rate, scoring 22 half-centuries. Root's highest score in the championship is 262.
2025-27
Highest run-scorer in the ongoing WTC cycle
At The Oval, Root also became the highest run-scorer in the ongoing WTC cycle. He surpassed Indian captain Shubman Gill, who currently has 950 runs from just eight games at an average of 79.16. Root and Gill own the joint-most centuries (5 each). Meanwhile, they have slammed one fifty each as well.
Cycles
Root's performance across previous WTC cycles
Notably, Root topped the runs tally in the 2023-25 WTC cycle, scoring 1,968 runs from 22 Tests at 54.66 (100s: 7, 50s: 7). In the 2021-23 edition, Root hammered 1,915 runs from 22 matches at 53.19 (100s: 8, 50s: 6) to finish as the top-scorer. In 2019-21, he was the 2nd-highest scorer with 1,660 runs at 47.42 from 20 matches (100s: 3, 50s: 8).