Joe Root passed 12,000 Test runs and leapfrogged the great Brian Lara in the all-time list of leading scorers as England battled towards parity with the West Indies on the second day at Edgbaston.
The West Indies made a stirring start as they looked to carve a lead out of their first-innings score of 282, taking two early wickets to leave England in trouble at 54 for five in this third Test.
At tea England were just eight behind on 274 for seven, thanks in large part to their former skipper.
Root stopped the rot, sharing a stand of 115 with current captain Ben Stokes and ticking off his latest set of milestones with a disciplined 87.
His 14th run took him past Lara’s career mark of 11,953 Test runs, seeing off one of Caribbean cricket’s greats as he frustrated the current crop, and his 60th made him the seventh player in history to reach 12,000.
Root is the only active player on that list and it is only a matter of time before he overhauls fifth-placed Sir Alastair Cook’s 12,472 to become the top-scoring Englishman.
Stokes gave his wicket away with a careless pull on 54 and Root was teased out by Gudakesh Motie in sight of a 33rd Test century but wicketkeeper Jamie Smith was on hand to carry on their work.
He made a dashing 57 not out, hitting six fours and clearing the Hollies Stand with a mighty blow that left his captain wide-eyed in wonder on the balcony as he watched it sail out of the stadium
West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite missed a big chance to change the course of the day’s play, declining to call for DRS when Jayden Seales had an lbw shout against Root in just the second over. Root would have been given out on review but instead set about batting his side back into a contest that threatened to get away from them.
Resuming on 38 for three after a tricky eight-over spell on the first evening they found themselves in an even bigger hole as they lost two wickets in the space of seven balls. First Ollie Pope dragged down his stumps, then Harry Brook edged Seales behind attempting to assert himself with an over-ambitious drive.
That brought Stokes together with Root as England’s past and present captains joined forces to steer their side to calmer water. The crowd saluted Root overtaking Lara as the news flashed up on the big screen and he marked the moment by hitting his next two deliveries for four.
Stokes showed a willingness to counter-attack, throwing hands at anything that strayed wide or over-pitched, but Root’s steady accumulation dictated the tone.
He passed 50 without a single moment of alarm before Stokes decided to play catch-up. Moving quickly up the gears, he crunched Jason Holder down the ground then slog-swept Motie for six over mid-wicket.
Stokes was primed to take over but instead gave it up softly, taking Alzarri Joseph’s invitation to test out his pull shot and picking out the leaping Brathwaite at midwicket.
Smith made sure the tempo did not sag though, playing some authentically classical drives before indulging himself by relying on muscle rather than timing.
He took the same bait as Stokes but nailed his stroke perfectly, launching Joseph all the way out of the ground. The Surrey stumper did something similar on debut at Lord’s and is fast developing an enviable highlights reel.
Root fell 13 short of his ton, Motie’s left-arm spin finally finding a way through his defences to trap him plumb in front with a sliver of turn, but Smith hurried to his half-century in just 60 balls to keep England on track for a lead.
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