Joe Root Creates History, Becomes 1st Player In The World To...

England batting talisman Joe Root has become the first player in the world to score 2,000 Test runs against New Zealand. He achieved the record as England’s stand-in captain in the ongoing second Test against the Blackcaps at the Oval on Saturday (June 20).

Root achieved the record in his 44th innings against the Kiwis, averaging well over 50 throughout, with six centuries and nine fifties so far. The previous highest run-scorer against New Zealand was Pakistan’s Javed Miandad with 1919 runs from only 29 innings.

Most Test runs against New Zealand:

Rank	Player	Country	Span	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	100s	50s	0s
1	Joe Root	England	2013–2026	23	44	5	2004*	226	51.38	6	9	4
2	Javed Miandad	Pakistan	1976–1993	18	29	5	1919	271	79.95	7	6	0
3	Rahul Dravid	India	1998–2010	15	28	2	1659	222	63.80	6	6	1
4	Sachin Tendulkar	India	1990–2012	24	39	5	1595	217	46.91	4	8	1
5	Jacques Kallis	South Africa	1999–2013	18	28	3	1543	186	61.72	6	6	2
6	Allan Border	Australia	1980–1993	23	32	3	1500	205	51.72	5	6	2
7	Chris Gayle	West Indies	2002–2014	12	21	2	1258	204	66.21	3	7	0
8	Shivnarine Chanderpaul	West Indies	1995–2014	21	34	7	1232	126*	45.62	2	8	3
9	Justin Langer	Australia	1993–2005	14	23	4	1196	215	62.94	4	5	3
10	David Boon	Australia	1985–1993	17	27	2	1187	200	47.48	3	8	3

Root needed 75 runs to achieve the huge milestone before the start of this three-Test series. He scored only nine runs in the first Test at Lord’s, and managed a much better 46 at the Oval.

Needing 20 in the fourth innings, Root arrived

at the crease with England already under pressure at 13 for 2, chasing a mammoth 463, after Kyle Jamieson removed Emilio Gay and Jacob Bethell in the same over.

On a pitch offering movement and uneven bounce, his start was far from comfortable. He survived an outside edge that fell short of second slip, saw New Zealand waste a review against him, and spent much of his first 20 deliveries simply absorbing pressure from Jamieson and Matt Henry.

Once settled, however, Root gradually took control of the chase. Rather than forcing the pace, he relied on timing and placement, picking off boundaries with his typical late cuts, square drives, and deft punches behind point whenever New Zealand offered width.

As wickets continued to fall around him, including Ben Duckett’s dismissal shortly after England slipped to 40 for 3, Root remained the calming influence. Along the way, he also became only the second batter in the world to breach the 14,000 Test runs mark after Sachin Tendulkar.

He went into the tea break at 24* (40) with England still in a difficult spot at 54/3.