‘No better feeling’ - Joe Root after surpassing Alastair Cook’s century record

Star England batter Joe Root registered his 34th Test century in the second innings of the Lord’s Test against Sri Lanka. With that, he surpassed his former captain Alastair Cook’s record of most centuries by an England cricketer in Test cricket history. Root hit 143 runs in the first innings of the second Test and made 103 in the second innings as England posted a mammoth target of 483 runs.

After the end of the day’s play, Root humbly stated that he aims to score runs for England and that’s his role in the team. He also mentioned that there is no better feeling after scoring a century as it is a big part of why he picked up a cricket bat in the first place. However, he was quick to mention that winning a Test match is more important to him and that is what he is focused on a the moment.

“I just want to play. I just want to play and try and, you know do my bit for the team and score the runs that... But there's no better feeling, I mean, it's obviously amazing when, you know, you score 100 and you know, you'd be lying if you said it wasn't, a big part of why you start playing the game and what you love about it,” Root said in a video released by ECB.

Also Read - Alastair Cook hails Joe Root after 34th Test ton

“But there's no feeling better than winning a Test match. So the more it can affect games and the more you can, you know, add to the team the greater it is. And hopefully, more days like this will come with that mentality,” he added.

1️⃣ Sachin Tendulkar - 15921 runs
⬆️ Joe Root - 12377 runs

Half an eye on Sachin's record, Joe? 👀

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 31, 2024

Speaking about breaking Cook’s record, Root mentioned that the former cricketer was very supportive and gracious to him throughout his career and that he would now be able to rib him about it later.

“He's been very gracious and supportive throughout and he's a good pal of mine, so I am sure I will be able to rib him a bit later on about it,” Root said.