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Joe Root battled against time and the loss of batting partners to ensure he stands alone at the top of England’s Test centurions after scoring a stunning 34th hundred against Sri Lanka at Lord’s.
Countless times in the last decade England have turned to Root to dig them out of trouble, or lift them to a dominant position, and time and again he has delivered, scoring more than 2,000 runs at Lord’s and beating Sir Alastair Cook’s record in the process.
England dominated the second Test match against Sri Lanka almost from the outset, helped in no small part by Root’s successive centuries in each innings, and at the end of a light-affected day three, Sri Lanka were 53 for two needing a further 430 to win.
When he reached the triple figures with just two wickets remaining, Cook paid tribute to his former teammate on Test Match Special, saying: “He is quite simply England’s greatest.
“It is absolutely right that he has this record to himself. Take it in, Joe, we are watching you and you are a genius.
“There is a sense of inevitability around Joe Root when he bats, a sense that he is always going to score runs. It’s such a pleasure to see a master at work like this.”
England’s other batters might have been a bit careless with their wickets, of the first 17 to fall, only Dan Lawrence was out to a defensive shot, on the evening of the second day, but just as he had done in the first innings, Root stood strong at the crease to bring up the three figures to a standing ovation from all corners of the Home of Cricket.
Root had equalled the record of 33 with his century in the first innings, lifting England to a dominant score of 427 having been 216 for six, but had a battle against time before the impending declaration in the second.
At the lunch break on day three, England were 159 for four, with a lead of 390, and Root on 48, but the wickets continued to tumble at the other end and he was forced to accelerate.
There was a brief moment of concern when Root was on 79, trying to heave the ball into the leg side towards the mound stand and missing, but largely it was the risk-taking from the other batters that threatened his record. Atkinson played an improvised switch-hit hook shot that was caught in the deep to leave England seven down, with Root chasing the record.
With number 10 Olly Stone at the other end, Root took the challenge upon himself, deciding when to run and when to hold firm, and spent an agonising 16 deliveries in the nineties, before driving through cover on the 17th to bring up the three figures.
In the first innings, Root also had a nervy wait for the century, stranded on 99 for 12 deliveries before ensuring his name would yet again have a place on the Lord’s honours board.
He was eventually out for 103, leaving the field to a standing ovation, after being almost comically dropped the ball after his century.
An early tea ensured England would bowl after the break, but Lord’s was bathed in gloomy skies, heavily reliant on the floodlights. Ollie Pope found his options limited to his spin attack before play was called at 6pm but not before Root passed the milestone of taking his 200th catch, with both Sri Lanka wickets edging to his safe hands in the slips.
