England batter Joe Root moved up to third on the all-time Test run-scorers’ list on Friday, leaping above India’s Rahul Dravid and South Africa’s Jacques Kallis.
Already England’s most prolific run-scorer in the format, Root overtook Dravid by reaching 30 on the third morning of the fourth Rothesay Test against India at Emirates Old Trafford.
Root adding just one further run under glorious blue skies in Manchester two balls later took him past Kallis’ mark of 13,289 and he is now only behind Australia’s Ricky Ponting and India’s Sachin Tendulkar.
The all-time leading run-scorers in Test cricket 📈
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 25, 2025
1️⃣ Tendulkar – 15,921
2️⃣ Ponting – 13,378
3️⃣ 𝗥𝗼𝗼𝘁 – 𝟭𝟯,𝟮𝟵𝟬 ⬆️
4️⃣ Kallis – 13,289
5️⃣ Dravid – 13,288
6️⃣ Cook – 12,472
7️⃣ Sangakkara – 12,400
8️⃣ Lara – 11,953
9️⃣ Chanderpaul – 11,867
🔟 Jayawardene – 11,814
Joe Root,… pic.twitter.com/m8OY90YCj6
The 34-year-old could yet overhaul Ponting’s haul of 13,378 if he gets to 120 in this innings, although the great Tendulkar’s record of 15,921 remains some way off.
Root overtook Sir Alastair Cook’s previous England record of 12,472 runs in Pakistan last October, while the Yorkshireman is also the country’s leading ODI run-scorer, going past Eoin Morgan last month.
