Joe Root has climbed three steps and is now just a stride away from the summit.

Blog post descriptionAt 3:40 PM, during the scheduled tea break, Joe Root made his way up the 34 steps to the Old Trafford pavilion, taking them mostly two at a time. With his helmet in hand and his head down, he moved with a sense of ease—purposeful yet unhurried. This week, those stairs have posed quite a challenge. Just ask Jasprit Bumrah, who rolled his ankle on them, or Rishabh Pant and Ben Stokes, who struggled up, clinging to the rail—one nursing a fracture, the other battling a cramp. But Root? He glided up without a hitch, earning applause from the crowd as he ascended. At the top, just before slipping into the dressing room, he placed his helmet and gloves at the entrance—a subtle yet powerful punctuation to an innings that hinted at even greater things to come. It wasn’t just about the stairs Root conquered; it was a climb into the elite ranks of cricket’s run-scorers. As he made his way up, he surpassed significant milestones in the game’s history. He started the day as the fifth-highest run-scorer in Test cricket and finished it in second place. The journey began quietly at 11:28 AM. With his 22nd run, he reached 1,000 Test runs at Old Trafford—a milestone that sparkled with meaning. Root, a proud Yorkshireman, was navigating Lancastrian steps, where the roses bloom differently. Yet, this ground has become a familiar stage for his brilliance. Scoring 1,000 runs in a rival's territory served as a gentle reminder of his ability to perform everywhere: against spin and swing, in gloomy conditions and under the blazing sun. The only challenge left? An Ashes century in Australia. If he achieves that later this year, who could possibly begrudge him that final flourish? At 11:50 AM, he moved to 31 with a delicate dab to third man off Bumrah. Just another single, but it pushed him past Rahul Dravid, a legend he had also outdone for the most catches at Lord's just last week. Five minutes later, a well-placed single through cover off Mohammed Siraj lifted him past Jacques Kallis. Each step he took mirrored the way he’s built his legacy: quietly, skillfully, and without any fuss.