Stats: Root overtakes Cook to England's Test hundreds throne

In the ongoing second Test between England and Sri Lanka at Lord's, Joe Root has scored his 34th Test century, setting a new record for the most Test centuries by an English player. Previously held by Alastair Cook with 33 centuries, Root's achievement now places him at the top of England's all-time Test century list.

With this century, Root has joined the elite club of batsmen with the most centuries, alongside Sunil Gavaskar, Brian Lara, Mahela Jayawardene, and Younis Khan, who are all tied for sixth place on the all-time list. The top five in this prestigious list are:

1. Sachin Tendulkar (51 centuries)
2. Jacques Kallis (45 centuries)
3. Ricky Ponting (41 centuries)
4. Kumar Sangakkara (38 centuries)
5. Rahul Dravid (36 centuries)

In terms of Test centuries for England, Root leads with 34, followed by Alastair Cook with 33, Kevin Pietersen with 23, Wally Hammond with 22, Colin Cowdrey with 22, and Ian Bell with 22.

Joe Root has also become one of only nine batsmen in international cricket to score 50 or more centuries, entering this exclusive list. The top players in this category are:

1. Virat Kohli (80 centuries)
2. Ricky Ponting (71 centuries)
3. Kumar Sangakkara (63 centuries)
4. Jacques Kallis (62 centuries)
5. Hashim Amla (55 centuries)
6. Mahela Jayawardene (54 centuries)
7. Brian Lara (53 centuries)

At Lord's, Root has scored seven Test centuries, the most by any player at this venue, surpassing other notable English cricketers like Graham Gooch and Michael Vaughan, each with six. Overall, the record for most centuries at a single venue belongs to Mahela Jayawardene with 11 at the SSC Colombo. Don Bradman and Jacques Kallis are tied with nine centuries each at the MCG and Newlands, Cape Town, respectively.