Joe Root equals England's record for number of tons in a calendar year

Published: August 26 2021 | 19:07

Last updated: August 26 2021 | 20:13

Joe Root equals England's record for number of tons in a calendar year

Joe Root's 121 came off 165 balls as England moved into a strong lead in Leeds.

Joe Root struck a masterful century at Headingley, equalling England's record for the number of hundreds in a calendar year.

The England captain and Dawid Malan moved from a dominant position over India into a near untouchable one with Root's 121 coming off 165 balls as they moved into a strong lead.

Root's hundred was his sixth ton of the calendar year and puts him level with Denis Compton who scored six in 1947, and Michael Vaughan who did so in 2002.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the Yorkshireman's five other centuries.

228 v Sri Lanka, first Test at Galle, January 2021

Joe Root brought up his 8,000th Test match run on his way to a double century in the first Test at Galle (Adam Davy/PA)

On the occasion he reached his 8,000th Test run, Root scored a masterful double century, converting his 168 overnight into 228 for his then-fourth double ton for his country. His 228 came from 321 balls including 18 fours and a six, before he was caught off the bowling of Dilruwan Perera.

186 v Sri Lanka, second Test at Galle, January 2021

Root then scored 186 in the second Test, in front of one England fan on the fort (Rob Lewis/PA)

England had to look to Root for guidance, having slipped to five for two before the captain came in and went on to make 168 as he reached the three-figure milestone in consecutive matches for the first time in his career. Eventually his innings was brought to an end when he was run out, Oshada Fernando throwing down the stumps.

218 v India, first Test at Chennai, February 2021

Chennai was the setting for Root's second double ton of the year (Anthony Devlin/PA)

Root marked his 100th Test appearance with a double century viewed by many as Test cricket returned to free-to-air television for the first time since 2005. He finished the first day of the Test 128 not out, before reaching 209 on the second afternoon in Chennai, and eventually reaching 218 before being caught lbw by Shahbaz Nadeem.

109 v India, first Test at Nottingham, August 2021

Root scored a century as England drew the first Test at Trent Bridge (Tim Goode/PA)

Root became England's record international run-scorer as he led his team to 138 for four against India on day one of the first Test at Trent Bridge, overtaking Sir Alastair Cook's all-format runs tally of 15,737. Root was England's top-scorer by far, as none of the other players registered a half-century but it was not enough to secure a win as the game finished in a draw.

180 v India, second Test at Lord's, August 2021

Root's century at Lord's was not enough to stop England falling behind in the series (Zac Goodwin/PA)

An unbeaten century at Lord's saw Root move up two places to second in the International Cricket Council Test batting rankings, although it was not enough to stop India winning by 151 runs to move 1-0 up in the series. It was his second ton of the series and third against India in the calendar year.