Wednesday 30 / October / 2024
London: England batter Joe Root continues to perform at his best and former skipper Michael Vaughan thinks he could become Test cricket's leading run-scorer, overtaking legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's gigantic numbers.
Root (11,940 runs) moved up to eighth place on the list of leading run-scorers in Test cricket when he scored his 32nd Test century against the West Indies in Nottingham over the weekend and Vaughan thinks the 33-year-old can continue to reach even greater heights, as per the ICC.
West Indies great Brian Lara is just 13 runs ahead of Root in seventh place, while Tendulkar's record tally of 15,921 Test runs is now less than 4,000 runs away as the England veteran continues to his rise up the exclusive club.
Vaughan expects Root to surpass Alastair Cook's total of 12,472 runs and become England's most prolific scorer when the side plays against Pakistan and New Zealand later this year and thinks the former skipper can even better Tendulkar should he continue to perform at his best.
"Joe Root will become England's leading run-scorer in the next few months and is so special that he really could overtake Sachin Tendulkar eventually," Vaughan wrote of the world's number two ranked Test batter in The Telegraph, as quoted by the ICC.
"As the rock, Root is obviously key to that, and I love that he kept the reverse-scoop in the locker until he was past 100 (in the second Test against the West Indies) and England's lead was massive."
"Against an attack like the West Indies in these conditions, you expect him to get a century. He missed out in the first inning but was so determined to put it right in the second. He was never going to make the same mistakes," he concluded about Root.
Root is not the only England batter to have impressed Vaughan in recent times, with the exploits of young gun Harry Brook also catching the eye of the respected commentator and Ashes-winning skipper.
Brook scored his fifth Test century when he amassed 109 in the second innings against the West Indies at Trent Bridge and Vaughan was suitably captivated. This was Brook's fifth Test century and the first one in front of his home crowd in the UK.
"Then there is Harry Brook, who is going to provide spectators with so many 'I was there' moments in the next few years. He will play innings and shots that just make you go 'wow'. I have seen players with time, but I am not sure I have seen anyone with that much time to play aggressive shots looking very easy," Vaughan added.
The hosts wrapped up the series-clinching triumph late on the fourth day, with spinner Shoaib Bashir (5/41) claiming the third five-wicket haul of his career to help England dismiss the West Indies for 143 in pursuit of 385 for victory.
It means England now hold a 2-0 series lead in the three-match series against the West Indies and Ben Stokes' side gets the chance to clinch a series sweep when the third and final Test commences in Birmingham on Friday.
In the second Test, the West Indies won the toss and opted to bowl first.
England delivered a fine batting performance, powered by Ollie Pope's sixth Test ton (121 in 167 balls, with 15 fours and a six) and fine half-centuries from Ben Duckett (71 in 59 balls, with 14 fours) and skipper Ben Stokes (69 in 104 balls, with eight fours). England made 416/10 in 88.3 overs.
Alzarri Joseph (3/98) was the pick of the bowlers for WI. Jayden Seales, Kavem Hodge, Kevin Sinclair took two wickets, while Shamar Joseph got one wicket.
In their first inning, WI was struggling at 84/3, staring at yet another potential big loss.
However, Alick Athanaze (82 in 99 balls, with 10 fours and a six) and Kavem Hodge (120 in 171 balls, with 19 fours) pulled out a brilliant counter-attacking partnership of 175 runs. Later on, wicketkeeper-batter Joshua da Silva (82* in 122 balls, with 10 fours and three sixes) pulled off an impressive 71-run partnership for the tenth wicket along with Shamar Joseph (33 in 27 balls, with five fours and two sixes), which helped WI breach England's first innings score and take a 41-run lead. WI was bundled out for 457 runs in 111.5 overs.
Chris Woakes (4/84) was the top wicket-taker for England. Young pacer Gus Atkinson and spinner Shoaib Bashir also took two wickets each, while skipper Ben Stokes and Mark Wood got one.
In their second inning, England responded to West Indies' fightback with vigour and loads of runs. While Ben Duckett (76 in 92 balls, with 11 fours) and Ollie Pope (51 in 67 balls, with six fours) scored fifties, Root (122) and Harry Brook (109 in 132 balls, with 13 fours) scored big centuries to take England to 425/10 in 92.2 overs, setting the West Indies a target of 385 runs to win.
Seales (4/97) was the leading wicket-taker for West Indies in the second innings, with Alzarri also getting two scalps. Shamar, Sinclair and Holder got a wicket each.
