England star batter Joe Root etched his name in the record books on Thursday, becoming the first England batter to breach the 8,000-run mark in One-Day Internationals (ODIs). Root achieved the milestone during England’s clash against Sri Lanka in the Pakistan ODI Tri-Series, scoring 69 off 66 deliveries, including eight fours. Following his latest knock, Root’s ODI tally stands at 8,005 runs in 197 matches and 186 innings at an average of 50.66 and a strike rate of 87.83.
He reached the landmark in his 186th ODI innings.
The right-handed batter has registered 20 centuries and 49 half-centuries in the format, with a highest score of 166. Root’s landmark places him 1,048 runs ahead of former England captain Eoin Morgan , who occupies second place on England’s all-time ODI run-scorers’ list with 6,957 runs in 225 matches.
In 2015 and 2016, he set consecutive records for the most runs scored by an England player across all formats in a calendar year, amassing 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 the decade, he remained a formidable presence in ODI cricket, scoring more than 900 runs in each of three consecutive years from 2017 to 2019. He stepped away from ODI cricket in 2020 but returned in 2023 ahead of the ODI World Cup.
Root made a valuable contribution with three half-centuries Although England endured a disappointing campaign.
