Joe Root surpasses Sir Alastair Cook to become England's all-time leading Test run scorer

Joe Root has become an England cricket record-breaker during the first October Test against Pakistan having passed the iconic Sir Alastair Cook during Wednesday morning's session

Joe Root has claimed the title as England's all-time leading Test run scorer after smashing Sir Alastair Cook's record.

The former England captain has held the record since 2018 with 12,472 but Root has since surpassed that with a brilliant batting performance against Pakistan on Wednesday morning. He secured the record with his 71st run of the session in 107 balls.

It was the second of Cook's records that Root had claimed this year. He also surpassed the iconic captain with his 34th Test century in the recent clash with Sri Lanka.

Speaking after securing the record for Test match centuries, Root said: “It was nice. It was a pretty special feeling.”

He added: “I am very proud, and it was nice to share a moment with my dad walking off the field, that was really quite special.

“They are all things in a few years’ time when I am a washed up old veteran I might be able to look back and enjoy it, but at the minute I feel like I’ve got a lot of cricket to play. But that was a really nice moment.”

Speaking about his former teammate on Test Match Special, Cook said: "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.

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“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.”

Yorkshire star Root, 33, started his career with England back in 2012 having made his debut against India. He has since gone on to amass 147 Test appearances for his country.

England are set to take on Pakistan in two further tests this month. The second gets underway on October 15 in Multan, Punjab. The final clash is scheduled for October 24 in Rawalpindi.

Pakistan had set England a 556 run target during the opening innings of the first Test - Shan Masood leading the way for the hosts with 151, while Abdullah Shafique and Salman Ali Agha both scored centuries.

Zak Crawley responded with 78 but captain Ollie Pope had a nightmare after being caught after just two balls without scoring a single run.

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