Pakistan faced England in the first Test at Multan Cricket Stadium, where the third day brought an exciting moment involving England’s Harry Brook. After Ben Duckett’s dismissal, Brook joined Joe Root at the crease, and the pair quickly piled on the runs, maintaining a blistering run rate of five per over. Both players went on to score centuries, anchoring England’s innings.
Brook, however, had a stroke of luck when he was on 75. Aamer Jamal bowled a full delivery that Brook defended, but the ball bounced back off his bat, hit his helmet, and then rolled toward the stumps. Despite its unpredictable path, the ball had lost its pace, and the bails remained intact.
Harry Brook attempted to stop the ball and was visibly relieved when it didn’t dislodge the bails, allowing him to continue his innings. Joe Root, on the other hand, reached a significant career milestone. As he progressed past 70 runs, he became England’s all-time leading run-scorer, surpassing the legendary Alastair Cook’s record of 12,472 Test runs.
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Joe Root didn’t stop there; he went on to score his 35th Test century, moving past cricket greats like Sunil Gavaskar, Mahela Jayawardene, Brian Lara, and Younis Khan in the process.
What happened there?! 😲
Brook is rendered lucky 🏏#PAKvENG | #TestAtHome pic.twitter.com/qk5dzRKEYn
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 9, 2024
The 33-year-old has been in magnificent form, already notching two centuries in the Lord’s Test against Sri Lanka before arriving in Pakistan. Remarkably, in his 12-year Test career, Root has only averaged below 40 once in any calendar year. After his latest milestone, England captain Ben Stokes lauded Root’s team-first mentality.
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“He’s incredibly selfless, always putting the team above himself. The fact that he’s amassed so many runs is just a bonus for us,” Stokes said in a video shared by the ECB. “It’s going to take someone a long time to break that record. He’s not just an incredible player, but a great bloke as well.”
