Joe Root Matches Ricky Ponting’s Feat, with Landmark SCG Century in Ashes
This was his 41st Test ton, which places him alongside Ricky Ponting at third place for the most centuries in Test cricket
January5, 2025: England icon Joe Root once again proved his critics wrong by scoring his second century of the Ashes series during the ongoing fifth Test in Sydney. The modern-day Test great brought up his 41st Test hundred and has now equalled Ricky Ponting’s record.
Before the Ashes, there was a lot of talk about how Root would perform in Australia, as he had never scored a Test century there. However, he ended that wait with a brilliant hundred in the Day-Night Test in Brisbane earlier in the series.
Root has now followed it up with another fine century in the first innings of the fifth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. This was his 41st Test ton, which places him alongside Ricky Ponting in third place for the most centuries in Test cricket.
Most centuries in Test cricket
- Sachin Tendulkar – 51 centuries in 200 matches
- Jacques Kallis – 45 centuries in 166 matches
- Joe Root – 41 centuries in 163 matches
- Ricky Ponting – 41 centuries in 168 matches
- Kumar Sangakkara – 38 centuries in 134 matches
4th English player to achieve major record
Meanwhile, Root achieved another big milestone with his century at the SCG. The 35-year-old has become only the fourth England player to score multiple away Ashes centuries since the 1994/95 series.
He has joined an elite list that includes Michael Vaughan (3 centuries), Alastair Cook (3), and Jonathan Trott (2).
Root achieves major record for the first time
Root has been in outstanding form since 2021. He has scored 24 Test centuries in this period, while the next best batter has managed only 10. For the first time in his career, Root has now converted each of his last five Test half-centuries into centuries. Earlier, he had converted four in a row between 2022 and 2024. Root is now close to another England record. The most consecutive half-centuries converted into hundreds for England is six, a feat achieved by Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, and Alastair Cook.
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