An unbelievable feat – England captain Ben Stokes hails ‘incredible’ Joe Root

Root passed former England captain Sir Alastair Cook’s record during the first Test in Pakistan.

Pa Sport Staff
Wednesday 09 October 2024 08:40 BST
Joe Root, left, is congratulated by Ben Stokes (Anjum Naveed/AP)
Joe Root, left, is congratulated by Ben Stokes (Anjum Naveed/AP) (AP)

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Louise Thomas

Louise Thomas

Editor

Ben Stokes hailed “selfless” and “incredible” Joe Root after he became England’s record Test run-scorer.

By reaching 72 not out on day three of the first Test against Pakistan in Multan, Root passed the previous mark of 12,472 runs set by former captain Sir Alastair Cook.

Current skipper Stokes is sitting out the match through injury but praised Root’s character and achievement in a video released on X by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

“The selflessness that he has is an incredible attribute for him,” Stokes said. “He always puts the team first, and the fact that he’s got so many runs is just a bonus for us.

“He’s an incredible player. It’s going to take a long, long time for someone to come in and break that record. Just a great bloke. And an unbelievable feat to score that many runs.

“But the non-selfishness that he possesses is one thing I think sets him above or sets him apart from anybody else who is going to play for England for a long time.”

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