Joe Root hammered yet another ton as he continues to enjoy a rich vein of form in red-ball cricket in 2024. He scored 143 off 206 balls at Lord’s in the second Test match against Sri Lanka, helping England establish a very strong start on day one of the Test match.
This is Root’s first century of the series, and took him to 33 overall Test centuries. This ties him at the top of the all-time centurions list for English cricketers, alongside Alastair Cook. He has now entered the top 10 of most centuries all-time, and is 18 behind Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 51. With plenty of cricket still left in the tank, Root will look to add to that number and climb up the record tables.
Here are the 5 Test players with the most centuries who are still active in the format.
Joe Root has been in meteoric form in Test cricket over the last 4 years. He only had 17 Test centuries entering the 2021 season, but has since added on 16 more tonnes to his record. He has established himself as the best batter in the format at the current time, and has the number one ranking to go with it.
Root’s maiden ton was in May 2013 at his home ground of Headingley, against New Zealand. His top score in his career so far was 254 against Pakistan at Old Trafford in 2016. If he replicates his form over the last 4 years, he has an outside chance of catching up with Tendulkar.
Kane Williamson sits right behind Joe Root with 32 Test centuries. He had a phenomenal series early in 2024 against South Africa, racking up three hundreds in that series to cross the 30-ton threshold and temporarily sit top of this list before Root caught back up. Importantly, however, Root has played almost 90 innings more than Williamson.
The Kiwi stalwart has a top score of 251, achieved against the Windies in 2020. His first career century was against India in 2010.
Considered the most prolific Test run-scorer of his generation, Australian Steve Smith has seen his great competitor and rival Joe Root cover up the massive gap between the pair in the last few years, before finally overtaking him this year.
The player on this list with the best average, Smith’s unorthodox style has been inarguably effective, his excellent hand-eye skills meaning he has been capable of scoring runs at will through his career. While he has slowed down in recent years, he remains a core part of the Aussie squad, now in a new role as opener.
Rounding out the ‘fab four’ sitting comfortably at the top of the list is Virat Kohli with 29. Although he became the leading all-time ODI centurion during last year’s World Cup, his Test form has fluctuated in recent years, but he will be eyeing number 30 and looking to catch back up with his rivals.
Kohli only has 2 Test centuries since 2020, but with both arriving in 2023 and his form in ODI cricket, Indian fans will be hoping he has more in the tank. His maiden century came at the Adelaide Oval in the infamous 2012 whitewash, with a high score of 254* against South Africa in 2019.
Number 5 in this list was occupied for the longest time by David Warner, but the Aussie retired from Test cricket with 26 tonnes to his name. His replacement at number 5 sees the combative and competitive Cheteshwar Pujara, on the cusp of breaching the 20-century mark.
Pujara was a key figure in the Indian Test team for most of the previous decade, filling in the shoes of Rahul Dravid at number 3 as the Indians became unbeatable at home and a force overseas. Pujara has lost his spot to a younger crop of players, but is still scoring runs at the domestic and County level and remains a veteran choice available for selection.
