Joe Root can score more runs than Alastair Cook in Test cricket, says James Anderson

If there is anyone that has outshone Indian batter KL Rahul in the five-match Test series between India and England so far, it is English skipper Joe Root. He played an unbelievable knock in England’s first innings in the second Test at the iconic Lords stadium. Root made an unbeaten 180 runs to help England reach a score of 391. It gave them a 27-run lead over Virat Kohli’s men at the end of day 2. Root received heaps of praise from several people, including veteran pacer James Anderson. He said that the England skipper could very well be on his way to breaking former cricketer Alastair Cook’s record in Test cricket.

Root has already surpassed former England skipper Graham Gooch’s run tally in Test cricket. Gooch had scored 8900 runs in the longest format of the game. When Anderson was asked whether Root could surpass Alastair Cook’s 12472 runs, he replied in the affirmative. “Absolutely (surpass Cook). Joe has been amazing through his career. With everything that we’ve been through with the pandemic and the pressures on this team, to be able to captain the side and perform the way he has been is nothing short of superhuman,” the veteran pace bowler said after the end of play on day 2.

Anderson also praised the strength of India’s batting, especially the likes of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma. Both the Indian openers had given a very strong start to their first innings. “I think it (India’s total) was testament to how they batted, especially KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma. They put you under pressure. They left well, defended well. I think it was a case of a little bit of luck as well,” Anderson said.

ANDERSON AND THE MAGIC OF LORDS

Anderson himself has been nothing short of exceptional. At 39 years old, he still remains one of the best bowlers in the world in Test cricket. He is also one of the few who know how to stop Kohli from scoring big runs. He picked up an incredible five-wicket haul at Lords. It was the seventh of his career. Anderson said that it was something about Lords that always brought the best out of him. He became the oldest player since 1951 to take a five-wicket haul in Test cricket with that performance.

“There’s something that is extra bit special about Lords, certainly for me. I do love it here. It just seemed to bring the best out of me,” he said. “The last few times I’ve been here you do think ‘is this the last time I’m going to play here?’ Hopefully, it’s not my last time here or my last time on the honours board,” he added.

Anderson also said that the strategy the England pacers had for the Indian batters on the second day was to bowl as full as possible. However, if the correct line and length were not hit, the deliveries were being driven for quite some runs. “Our strategy against India was to bowl as full as possible, but if you missed your length even slightly, it was getting driven,’” he said.