As England takes on Pakistan in this week’s third Test at Edgbaston, Joe Root has earned the third-highest number of caps in Test cricket history. With 168 Test caps, Root was tied for third place with Australian greats Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh.
He overtook each of them to take third position on the all-time list after he participated in the Edgbaston game. While Waugh and Ponting each played in 168 red-ball matches for Australia during their playing careers, Root, who made his Test debut for England against India in Nagpur in December 2012, is playing his 169th Test in Birmingham this week.
| Rank | Player | Country | Test Matches | Status / Era |
| 1 | Sachin Tendulkar | India | 200 | Retired (1989–2013) |
| 2 | James Anderson | England | 188 | Retired (2024) |
| 3 | Joe Root | England | 169 | Active (as of September 2026) |
| 4 | Ricky Ponting | Australia | 168 | Retired (1995–2012) |
| 5 | Steve Waugh | Australia | 168 | Retired (1985–2004) |
Root’s hitting numbers further solidify his spot in the record books. Prior to this game, he had amassed 14,208 runs at an average of 50.38 in 168 Test matches, with 41 hundreds, 68 fifties, and a maximum score of 262. With just Sachin Tendulkar surpassing him, he is the second-highest run scorer in Test cricket history. In Test cricket, Root has also taken 74 wickets with the ball.
Root was reappointed as England’s captain in 2026 after serving in that capacity from 2017 to 2022. He made one half-century in the first two Tests of the current Pakistan series, and coming into the Edgbaston match, he was still aiming for a three-figure total.
The only players with more Test appearances than Root are James Anderson of England and Sachin Tendulkar of India. Anderson played for England in 188 Test matches between 2003 and 2024, while Tendulkar concluded his 24-year career with 200 Test outings for India.
Root’s 200th international game in all three formats will take place in England during the third Test at Edgbaston. He needs 72 more runs to become the first player in history to score 12,000 international runs in England after scoring 11,928 in games played there.
Only five players have scored 12,000 or more international runs in one nation to date, with Sachin Tendulkar of India holding the world record. Between 1989 and 2013, Tendulkar participated in 258 Indian matches across all forms and amassed 14,192 runs.
