England’s Joe Root was agonizingly dismissed just one run short of achieving a rare 50.00 international batting average, leaving him stranded at 49.99. This statistical heartbreak mirrors the legendary Don Bradman’s famous final innings, where he fell short of a perfect 100 Test average.
England Test captain and talismanic batter Joe Root has been playing international cricket for nearly 14 years, making his Test debut against India in December 2012. Since then, Root has evolved into one of the greatest run-scorers of the modern era, breaking records and anchoring the English batting line-up across formats.
In the ongoing Test against Pakistan at Headingley, Joe Root resumed his leadership role after regaining the captaincy, anchoring England’s innings on Day 2, playing a gritty innings of 66 off 112 balls and forming a 150-run partnership with Jordan Cox, who scored 73 off 100 balls to put England in a commanding position in the Headingley opener.
However, the veteran English batter’s dismissal was more than just heartbreak, as he was left stranded on 66, just one run short of achieving his International batting average of exactly 50.00, which could have made him the first English batter with a minimum of 10,000 international runs to touch that rare statistical landmark.
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Joe Root Stranded at 49.99 Batting Average
Achieving a batting average of 50 across all formats in international cricket is one of the most significant achievements for any batter, representing the ultimate benchmark of consistency and longevity in the modern game. Joe Root fell just one short of the landmark, remaining stranded at an international batting average of 49.99 after his dismissal for 66.
Before walking to bat in the first innings of the Headingley Test, the 35-year-old was averaging 49.96 across all formats of the game and needed 67 runs to reach the coveted 50.00 mark. Root appeared to be well on course to achieve the milestone after settling into his innings. However, Khurram Shahzad’s crucial breakthrough trapped the England talisman lbw just one run shy of destiny.
Joe Root’s 67 runs took his total international tally to 22899, and he was dismissed 458 times out of his 516 innings played. Therefore, his batting average can be calculated by dividing his total runs by the number of times he has been dismissed, meaning 22899/458 = 49.998, which leaves the England talisman agonizingly close yet technically fractionally short of the elusive 50.00 average mark.
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Joe Root needs just one more run to reach the milestone if he remains unbeaten in his next innings, whereas a dismissal without adding to his tally would leave him short of the coveted 50.00 international batting average. If Root takes his tally to 22,900 by scoring just 1 run but is dismissed for the 459th time, his average would fall back to 49.89 (22,900/459), highlighting just how fine the margins are when chasing cricketing history
In case the veteran batter remains unbeaten after scoring just 1 run in the second innings of the Headingley Test, he will instantly cross the threshold and attain the pristine 50.00 international average. In this scenario, Root needs to score at least 51 runs before his dismissal to secure a 50.00 international batting average if his innings ends in a wicket.
Don Bradman’s, Strange Parallel
Joe Root falling just one run short of reaching a 50 batting average benchmark in his illustrious international career has revived memories of batting legend Donald Bradman’s iconic Test career average, where a single boundary in his final Test innings would have seen him finish with a pristine, mythical 100.
Bradman’s Test batting average of 99.94 is not only a record in red-ball cricket, but also in international cricket, as ODIs and T20Is were not played during his era, locking his legendary benchmark forever in history. Amassing 6994 runs at an average of 99.94 in just 52 matches remains unmatched, setting a golden standard for batting by Bradman.
However, before playing the final innings of his Test career against England at The Oval in August 1948, Don Bradman’s batting average stood at 101.39. To finish his unparalleled career with an average of exactly 100.00, he needed just four runs in his final innings. However, he was famously bowled for a duck by England spinner Eric Hollies, leaving him with a career average of 99.94.
Had Bradman scored four runs in that final innings, his career tally would have reached 7,000 runs from 70 dismissals out of 80 innings he played, giving him the immaculate Test batting average of exactly 100.00.
Now, Joe Root’s near-miss at the 50.00 mark in his international career offers a fascinating modern parallel to Don Bradman’s famous pursuit of a perfect 100.00, with both legends of the game in different eras finding themselves within touching distance of a statistical landmark that would have added an even more extraordinary chapter to their already remarkable careers.
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