Joe Root Explained: England's Run Machine and Leading Test Centurion
Who Joe Root is — England's prolific Test batter with the most centuries by an active player, his role in Bazball (England's aggressive Test approach), and why he is widely considered the best Test batter of his generation.
Joe Root (born 1990 in Sheffield) is England's most prolific Test batter and widely considered the best Test batter in the world across the 2020s. His record includes 34+ Test centuries and over 13,000 Test runs — both the most by any active Test batter at his career stage. Root bats at number four for England and is the only member of what cricket analysts call the 'Fab Four' (Kohli, Williamson, Smith, Root) who has maintained sustained excellence into the mid-2020s while the others have had injury, form, or retirement disruptions.
Bazball and Root's Renaissance
England's transformation to 'Bazball' — the aggressive, attacking Test approach introduced by Ben Stokes (captain) and Brendon McCullum (coach) from 2022 — coincided with the most prolific period of Root's career. Under Bazball, England play at high scoring rates, declare early, and target aggressive run chases. Root flourished in this environment, scoring centuries at a remarkable rate from 2021 onwards — multiple centuries in single series, and sustained averages well above 50 despite the higher scoring rate of the Bazball approach. In 2021 alone, Root scored 1,708 Test runs — the most by an English batter in a calendar year.
Test Record
Root's Test statistics make him one of England's greatest batters of all time. By 2025, he had scored 34+ centuries (surpassing Alastair Cook's England record of 33 Test centuries) and over 13,000 Test runs. His batting average fluctuated across his career — notably lower during England's difficult 2017–2021 period when he carried England's batting largely alone — but rose significantly under Bazball as the team around him also performed, reducing the pressure on Root to bat defensively.
The Fab Four
Root is one of cricket's 'Fab Four' — the four batting contemporaries (Kohli, Williamson, Smith, Root) who dominated Test batting across the 2010s and early 2020s and are frequently compared as the greatest Test batters of their generation. By the mid-2020s, Root had accumulated the most Test centuries and runs of the four, though arguments for each player's superiority rest on different criteria (Kohli's run chases, Smith's average consistency, Williamson's technical elegance, Root's volume). The comparison is a recurring subject in cricket analysis.
Frequently asked questions
How many Test centuries has Joe Root scored?
34+ Test centuries (surpassing Alastair Cook's England record of 33) and over 13,000 Test runs as of 2025 — the most by any active Test batter. His record is the highest of cricket's 'Fab Four' (Root, Kohli, Williamson, Smith) in terms of career centuries.
What is Bazball and how does Joe Root fit into it?
Bazball is England's aggressive Test playing style introduced under captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum from 2022 — high scoring rates, early declarations, aggressive run chases. Root has thrived under Bazball, producing his most prolific career period with multiple centuries per series and over 1,700 Test runs in 2021 alone.
Is Joe Root the best Test batter in the world?
Widely regarded as the best active Test batter through the 2020s, based on century count, run volume, and consistency. He is one of cricket's 'Fab Four' (with Kohli, Smith, Williamson) — which is considered the greatest depends on the criteria: Root leads on runs and centuries, Smith leads on average, Kohli on match-winning run chases.