Joe Root has joined a select group of England players after making 737 runs in England’s drawn Test series against India. The former England captain rounded off the campaign with a majestic 142 not out as, alongside Yorkshire team-mate Jonny Bairstow (114 not out), he guided England to their highest fourth-innings winning chase of 378-3 during a seven-wicket victory in the Covid-delayed fifth Test at Edgbaston on Tuesday. The win saw England level the five-match series at 2-2. Only four other England batsmen have scored more runs in a series during the 145-year history of Test cricket than Root’s tally in this campaign.
Walter Hammond’s 905 runs away to Australia in the 1928/29 Ashes remains the most by any England batsman.
But Graham Gooch’s 752 runs against India in 1990 was achieved in just three Tests, with the outstanding opener scoring 456 runs in one match at Lord’s alone thanks to innings of 333 and 123 at the ‘Home of Cricket’.
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