Legendary Australian captain Ricky Ponting believes that the star English batter Joe Root could be the one to surpass ‘God of Cricket’ Sachin Tendulkar as the highest run-scorer in test cricket. he said if the former England captain stays ‘hungry’ and scores consistently for the next four years, he can cross past Sachin. Root recently crossed the mark of 12,000 runs during the Edgbaston Test series against West Indies, as he secured the 7th place in red-ball history do so.
Root is the 7th-highest run-scorer in overall Tests with 12,027 runs in 143 tests with an average of 50.11, total of 32 centuries and 63 centuries. He can soon surpass Sangakkara (12,400 runs) and his former teammate Alastair Cook (12,472 runs). Tendulkar is on the top place in the table with 15,921 runs from 200 tests.
“He (Root) could potentially do that. He is 33 years of age…(more than) 3000 runs behind. It depends how many Test matches they play, but if they’re playing 10 to 14 Test matches a year and if you’re scoring 800 to 1,000 runs a year, then that sort of says he’s only three or four years off getting there. So that’ll take him to 37 (years of age),” Ponting said.
Ponting has scored 13,378 runs in 168 Tests, has his spot on second place on the list as he stays behind Tendulkar. He said that Root will need to score runs, and the England batter has the experience to beat this Test record.
“If his hunger’s still there, then there’s every chance that he could do it. He is someone that in the last couple of years has got better and better. There’s always talk around batters reaching their prime in their early 30s and he’s certainly done that. It’s been his conversion rates being the big thing,” he said.
According to Ponting, Root has overcome his inability to convert fifties into big enough scores.
“Four or five years ago, he was making a lot of 50s and struggling to go on and make hundreds and he’s gone the other way recently. Almost every time he gets to 50 now, he goes on and makes a big hundred. So that’s been the real turnaround for him,” he added.
