Joe Root’s Centuries : Inspiring the Next Generation of Cricketers

Joe Root’s Centuries

Joe Root, the illustrious English cricketer and former captain of the England Test team, has been hailed by his compatriots Eoin Morgan and Alastair Cook as the epitome of a “complete batsman” that England has ever produced. With a remarkable career spanning 131 Tests and 158 One Day Internationals (ODIs), Root’s consistent performance has yielded an impressive tally of 30 Test centuries and 16 ODI centuries as of June 2023.

Root’s Test Triumphs:

Root marked his Test debut in December 2012, and the following year, he etched his name in cricket history by notching his maiden century, a brilliant 104 against New Zealand at Headingley. In a remarkable display of skill, Root became the youngest English player to score an Ashes century at Lord’s during the home series against Australia in July 2013, amassing a commanding 180 runs.

This exceptional innings not only earned him the man of the match accolade but also contributed to England’s resounding victory. Root’s sensational performance throughout the 2013 season secured him the prestigious title of one of the five Cricketers of the Year by Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack in 2014. He continued to showcase his mastery by adding three more centuries to his name that year, including an unbeaten double century (200*) against Sri Lanka at Lord’s.

In July 2016, Root achieved his highest Test score of 254 against Pakistan, leaving an indelible mark on the cricketing world. In a historic feat, he became the first cricketer to achieve a double century in their 100th Test, amassing an outstanding 218 runs against India at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai in February 2021. Root has impressively registered centuries against seven out of the eleven Test-playing nations, with a special affinity for India, against whom he has recorded nine centuries.

No.	Score	Against	Venue	Date
1	104	New Zealand	Headingley, Leeds	24 May 2013
2	180	Australia	Lord’s, London	18 July 2013
3	200*	Sri Lanka	Lord’s, London	12 June 2014
4	154*	India	Trent Bridge, Nottingham	9 July 2014
5	149*	India	The Oval, London	15 August 2014
6	182*	West Indies	National Cricket Stadium, St. George’s	21 April 2015
7	134	Australia	Sophia Gardens, Cardiff	8 July 2015
8	130	Australia	Trent Bridge, Nottingham	6 August 2015
9	110	South Africa	Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg	14 January 2016
10	254	Pakistan	Old Trafford, Manchester	22 July 2016
11	124	India	Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot	9 November 2016
12	190	South Africa	Lord’s, London	6 July 2017
13	136	West Indies	Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham	17 August 2017
14	125	India	The Oval, London	7 September 2018
15	124	Sri Lanka	Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy	14 November 2018
16	122	West Indies	Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, Gros Islet	9 February 2019
17	226	New Zealand	Seddon Park, Hamilton	29 November 2019
18	228	Sri Lanka	Galle International Stadium, Galle	14 January 2021
19	186	Sri Lanka	Galle International Stadium, Galle	22 January 2021
20	218	India	M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai	5 February 2021
21	109	India	Trent Bridge, Nottingham	4 August 2021
22	180*	India	Lord’s, London	12 August 2021
23	121	India	Headingley, Leeds	25 August 2021
24	109	West Indies	Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound	8 March 2022
25	153	West Indies	Kensington Oval, Bridgetown	16 March 2022
26	115*	New Zealand	Lord’s, London	2 June 2022
27	176	New Zealand	Trent Bridge, Nottingham	10 June 2022
28	142*	India	Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham	1 July 2022
29	153*	New Zealand	Basin Reserve, Wellington	24 February 2023
30	118*	Australia	Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham	16 June 2023

ODI Dominance:

In the realm of One Day Internationals, Root unveiled his mettle by notching his maiden century against the West Indies in 2014. With a total of 16 centuries in the ODI format, he holds the record for the most centuries by an English player. Root’s ODI centuries have been scored across thirteen diverse venues, against seven different opponents. His highest ODI score of 133 not out was achieved against Bangladesh in June 2017, leaving spectators in awe of his match-winning prowess.

No.	Score	Against	S/R	Venue	Date
1	107	West Indies	87.70	Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound	5 March 2014
2	113	India	104.62	Headingley, Leeds	5 September 2014
3	104*	Sri Lanka	88.88	Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy	10 December 2014
4	121	Sri Lanka	112.03	Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington	1 March 2015
5	104	New Zealand	133.33	Edgbaston, Birmingham	9 June 2015
6	106*	New Zealand	109.27	Trent Bridge, Nottingham	17 June 2015
7	125	South Africa	110.61	SuperSport Park, Centurion	9 February 2016
8	109	South Africa	87.90	Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg	12 February 2016
9	101	West Indies	93.51	Kensington Oval, Bridgetown	9 March 2017
10	133*	Bangladesh	103.10	The Oval, London	1 June 2017
11	102	New Zealand	100.99	University Oval, Dunedin	7 March 2018
12	113*	India	97.41	Lord’s, London	14 July 2018
13	100*	India	83.33	Headingley, Leeds	17 July 2018
14	102	West Indies	105.15	Kensington Oval, Bridgetown	20 February 2019
15	107	Pakistan	102.88	Trent Bridge, Nottingham	3 June 2019
16	100*	West Indies	106.38	Rose Bowl, Southampton	14 June 2019

The T20 Challenge:

While Root has proven his might in Test and ODI cricket, his Twenty20 International (T20I) journey boasts 32 matches since his debut in December 2012. Although he is yet to achieve a century in this format, his highest score of 90 not out against Australia in August 2013 showcases his ability to dominate the game.

Epitome of Achievement:

As of June 2023, Root stands as the eleventh highest century scorer in international cricket, a testament to his remarkable skills and consistency. With a rich legacy already in place, Joe Root continues to be an inspiration and a beacon of excellence in English cricket.