What Happened
England star batter Joe Root has cemented his legacy in international cricket. During the opening ODI against Sri Lanka at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street, Root officially crossed the milestone of 23,000 international runs across all formats.
Needing just three runs to reach the landmark, the 35-year-old achieved the feat in his 394th international appearance. Although he was eventually dismissed for 44 runs off 52 deliveries—including five boundaries—his place in cricket history was already secured.
Root enters an ultra-exclusive group, becoming only the eighth player in the history of the sport to cross the 23,000-run threshold in international matches.
Why It Matters
Reaching 23,000 international runs places Root alongside some of the greatest players to ever pick up a bat. He joins an elite club featuring India legends Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, and Rahul Dravid, Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, Australia’s Ricky Ponting, and South Africa’s Jacques Kallis.
More importantly, Root is now the first and only English batter to reach this monumental milestone. He currently stands as England’s leading run-scorer in both Test and ODI cricket. Prior to this match, his phenomenal career numbers included over 14,200 Test runs and nearly 7,900 ODI runs, featuring 20 centuries in the 50-over format.
For context, the next highest English batter on the all-time list is former opener Alastair Cook, who finished his legendary career with 15,737 international runs.
What's Next
The milestone comes as England transitions focus to the ODI series against Sri Lanka, following a dominant 3-0 sweep in the T20I matches.
As Root continues to add to his record-breaking tally, his longevity and consistent brilliance across formats make him one of the defining cricketers of his generation. With plenty of cricket still left in his career, fans will be watching closely to see just how high the English maestro can push his final run totals before hanging up his boots.
