Former England captain Joe Root became only the fourteenth player in history to amass 10,000 Test runs while playing the opening match of the series against New Zealand at Lords. Joe Root reached the milestone with a match-winning unbeaten 115*-run effort in the second innings while pursuing 277 runs for victory. England won the match by 5 wickets and took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The first Test match report between England and New Zealand is discussed in this article, as well as Joe Root's Test career accomplishments.

Overview of Joe Root's Test Career

When Joe Root made his debut against India back in 2012, he was 22 years old. The talented middle-order batter was regarded highly by the ECB selectors back then. He didn’t disappoint them, as over the years he has become one of the best batters in the world.

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Within a few years, Joe Root became one of the main batters in the English team. In 2017, he was appointed as Test captain for the national side, a role he held till 2022. However, he lost the trust of the board after a series of defeats in the recent past. Under his guidance, England lost their last five series, which included the Ashes 2021–2022 season. Overall, England have won 27, lost 26 and drawn 11 in 64 matches under Joe Root’s captaincy.

As a batter, Joe Root has accomplished a lot. He is only the second English batter after Alastair Cook to reach the 10,000 Test run milestone. Root scored 1708 runs in the year 2021, which is the third highest overall in a calendar year. Overall, Joe Root has scored 10,015 runs in 218 innings with an average of 49.57. He has smacked 26 centuries, with his best 254 runs coming against Pakistan in 2016 at Old Trafford, Manchester.

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The list of players who have scored 10,000 or more Test Runs

   Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/

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England vs New Zealand First Test 2022: Match Report

New Zealand gave England a 277-run target after an improved batting performance in their second innings thanks to a 195-run stand between Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell.

England started off their innings with a positive intent as the opening stand made 31 runs in 8 overs. However, England’s pursuit of reaching the target was halted in a big way after losing 4 wickets for 69 runs. With a 90-run partnership between Joe Root and captain Ben Stokes, England repaired their innings quite well. But they still required 118 runs with five wickets in hand.

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The New Zealand campaign was expecting to put England on the back foot by picking up quick wickets early in the morning on day 4. However, their expectations didn’t come out as planned as Root and Ben Foakes took charge of the Kiwi bowlers and sealed the match just after the drinks break of the morning session. Joe Root remained unbeaten on 115*, having completed his 100 and 10,000 in the same delivery. Justifiably, Root was named player of the match for his brilliant effort with the bat.

Earlier in the match, New Zealand were all out for 132 in their first innings. In response, England had only a 9 run lead after scoring 141 runs in their first innings. New Zealand made a good comeback in their second innings and scored 285 runs. The second Test match of the series will start on June 10 (Friday) at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.

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Aftermath

England's Joe Root led his side to a stunning victory over New Zealand in the first Test, the country's first triumph in 2022. The English Test team appears to have benefited from the changes in captaincy and head coach. England have moved up to eighth place in the ICC World Test Championship, in addition to securing a series lead. Meanwhile, Joe Root now leads the World Test Championship top scorers chart with 1,301 runs and also has the most hundreds in the competition with six.