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By crossing the 30-run mark in the first innings of the ongoing third Test against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton, Root completed 1500 Test runs for England in 2024.
Joe Root becomes 2nd player after Ponting to 1500 Test runs in a calendar year on multiple occasions. (Picture Credit: AP, AFP)
Star English batter Joe Root joined legendary Ricky Ponting in an elite list on Sunday, December 15, by becoming only the second cricketer in the world to score 1500 Test runs in a calendar year on multiple occasions. Root, who is England’s leading run scorer in Test cricket, needed 30 runs before the start of the match in Hamilton to cross the 1500-run mark in 2024, and he achieved the feat during the second session of Day 2’s play of the ongoing third Test between England and New Zealand at Seddon Park.
Root, who broke Alastair Cook’s record earlier this year to become England’s run scorer in Test cricket, scored 1708 runs for the Poms in 15 Tests played in 2021. In 2024, he has 1502 runs to his name in 17 matches played so far.
Ponting, who is Australia’s leading run scorer in Tests, ODIs, and international cricket, scored 1503 Test runs in 2003 (11 matches) and 1544 Test runs in 2005 (15 matches).
A total of seven batters—Mohammad Yousuf, Viv Richards, Root, Graeme Smith, Michael Clarke, Sachin Tendulkar, and Ponting—have only managed to score more than 1500 Test runs in a calendar year, and of those seven players, only Root and Ponting have crossed the 1500-run mark on multiple occasions.
Most Test runs in a calendar year
- Mohammad Yousuf (Pakistan) – 1788
- Viv Richards (West Indies) – 1710
- Joe Root (England) – 1708
- Graeme Smith (South Africa) – 1656
- Michael Clarke (Australia) – 1595
- Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 1562
- Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 1544
- Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 1503
- Joe Root (England) – 1502*
Root has been in red-hot form in 2024, and in the last Test of the year for him, he would like to achieve one more feat. If Root, who has 12,916 runs to his name in 277 innings of 152 Tests played so far, manages to score 84 runs more in the ongoing match, then he will become the first English and fifth batter overall in the world to score 13,000 runs in Test cricket.
Most Test runs in 2024
- Joe Root (England) – 1502*
- Yashasvi Jaiswal (India) – 1304
- Ben Duckett (England) – 1134
- Harry Brook (England) – 1099
- Kamindu Mendis (Sri Lanka) – 1049
If Root manages to achieve the feat in the ongoing Test match, then he will break legendary South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis’ record and become the fastest batter in the world to score 13,000 Test runs in terms of matches.
Kallis crossed the 13,000-run mark in his 159th red-ball match for the Proteas, whereas India’s Rahul Dravid completed 13K Test runs in 160 matches.
