Joe Root etched his name into the World Test Championship record books on Friday, becoming the first player to score 3,000 runs as a captain in the WTC during England’s opening Test against Pakistan at Headingley in Leeds.Root needed 42 runs to reach the landmark at the start of the match and completed the milestone in the second session of Day 2. The Yorkshire batter had resumed the day unbeaten on 37 after England reached 112-2 on a rain-affected opening day. He added the remaining five runs after lunch to bring up 3,000 WTC runs as captain.The 35-year-old returned to the England captaincy following Ben Stokes’ retirement from international cricket in June 2026. His latest achievement further underlined his consistency in the longest format, with Root now having 3,000 runs from 34 matches and 63 innings as WTC captain. He has scored eight centuries and 13 fifties, with a highest score of 228, while averaging 50.13.Root is comfortably ahead of the leading run-scorers in the WTC as captain. Former England skipper Stokes occupies second place with 2,182 runs from 40 matches, followed by Sri Lanka’s Dimuth Karunaratne on 2,160. West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite has 1,994 runs, while Pakistan’s Babar Azam has 1,918.Root’s milestone came during another strong batting display from England, who ended Day 2 on 366-8, taking a first-innings lead of 195 runs over Pakistan.Root scored 66 and played a key role in a 150-run partnership with Jordan Cox, who made 73. Harry Brook narrowly missed out on a century, falling for 91 at his home ground. Dan Lawrence, playing his first Test in two years, also contributed with a 51.Pakistan’s Ali Usman was the standout bowler, claiming 5-92 for his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket.The visitors had been dismissed for just 171 on the opening day, leaving England firmly in control of the first Test. Pakistan’s bowling and fielding also came under scrutiny as England’s batters capitalised on several opportunities to build a substantial lead.For Root, however, the focus was on another landmark in a Test career that continues to produce records. His 3,000 WTC runs as captain put him alone at the top of the tournament’s captaincy batting charts.
