England Test captain Joe Root became the third-most capped Test player in cricket history after taking the field on day one of the Edgbaston Test against Pakistan on Wednesday (Sep 9).
Root surpassed former Australian captains and Test veterans Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting – who appeared in the same number of Test matches (168) – to feature in his 169th Test match and counting. Only two cricketers have played more Test matches than Root: James Anderson (188) and Sachin Tendulkar (200).
Players to Play Most Test Matches –
- Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 200 Test Matches
- James Anderson (England) – 188 Test Matches
- Joe Root (England) – 169 Test Matches*
- Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 168 Test Matches
- Steve Waugh (Australia) – 168 Test Matches
Root is the only active cricketer on this top-five list, with the remaining four retired from all forms of the game. Tendulkar’s number of Test appearances is not the only record that Root is chasing, as the current England captain is only second to the Master Blaster for most Test runs scored. Root is just 1713 runs behind Sachin’s tally of 15,921 runs he scored in 200 Test matches.