England captain Joe Root has been named as the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men's Test Cricketer of the Year for 2021. The English batter was one of the most consistent performers in 2021 which saw him score 1708 runs, the third-most by any player in the history of Test cricket in a single calendar year. This prestigious accolade has turned out to be a silver lining for him as the England team endured a tough time in 2021.
In 15 matches the prolific batsman registered 1708 runs, which included six centuries. On two occasions he scored the double century to register his highest score (in 2021) of 228 against Sri Lanka at Galle. His other double century came against India in February when he scored 218 runs in Chennai. He had an astounding average of 61 in 2021, which made him one of the best in the history of a calendar year records.
Only man to score more than 1000 runs in Test cricket
31-year-old Root was the only player in 2021 to score more than 1000 Test runs. Rohit Sharma of India, who was the second-best in the list, scored 906 runs, a whopping 802 runs behind the England captain. The run-difference is the highest between the first and second position in any calendar year as back in 1976 Sir Viv Richards (1710) bettered Sunil Gavaskar (1024) by 686 runs.
An elite list
Root's tally of 1708 is only bettered by Pakistan's Mohammad Yousuf (1788) and West Indies great Richards (1710), who lead the list of a calendar year. In setting the record, Root surpassed some of the greats of the game like- Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Sunil Gavaskar, Graeme Smith and many others.
Root currently also holds the record for most runs in Test cricket by any captain in a calendar year as he took over former South African skipper Smith (1656).
Interestingly, the England captain couldn't help his side in having a great year as the English team lost nine Test matches in 2021. They moreover had to suffered a humiliating 0-4 loss in the Ashes Test series which has seen them start 2022 on a poor note.
Root now needs to do something in order to change his team's results and the English team management would also want Root to carry forward his sublime batting if they want to reach the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final in 2023.
