Joe Root (ANI Photo)
Root’s latest innings took his career tally to 8,005 runs in 197 matches at an average of 50.66 and a strike rate of 87.83. His record also includes 20 centuries and 49 half-centuries, with a highest score of 166. Former captain Eoin Morgan occupied second place with 6,957 runs from 225 matches, leaving a gap of 1,048 runs between the two.
Root’s achievement puts him comfortably ahead of the other leading run-scorers in England’s ODI history.
Since making his ODI debut against India in Rajkot in 2013, Root has established himself as one of England’s most dependable batters. In 2015 and 2016, he set consecutive records for the most runs scored by an England player across all formats in a calendar year, registering 2,228 and 2,570 runs respectively. Root was appointed England’s Test captain in 2017 following Alastair Cook’s resignation. During the second half of that decade, he continued to make significant contributions in ODIs, scoring more than 900 runs in each of three consecutive years from 2017 to 2019. He stepped away from the 50-over format in 2020 but returned in 2023 ahead of the ODI World Cup in India.
His ability to combine consistency with the capacity to build long innings has made him a key figure in the side’s batting line-up. Root’s productivity has extended well beyond ODIs. Root contributed three half-centuries Although England endured a disappointing campaign.