It could have easily been a square drive through the covers, a clip off the pads through midwicket, a late guide down to third or, for a laugh, perhaps even that divisive reverse ramp. Joe Root has so many options at his disposal, so many ways by which he can either pierce or clear an in-field, that any number would have been a fitting way to overtake Alastair Cook and become England’s leading run‑scorer in Test cricket.
In the end, as Root marshalled England’s fightback against Pakistan in Multan with this 35th Test century, it was a simple yet sublime on-driven four that took him to 71 before lunch on day three and thus a tick past Cook’s tally of 12,472 Test runs. Cook held the English record for nine years in all, pushing Graham Gooch’s 8,900 into second place in 2015 for a case of apprentice eclipsing master. But even as he trowelled more and more on to that impressive pile before retirement three years later, Cook knew in all likelihood that he was keeping the seat warm for his teammate.
