Ashes Stats: Joe Root takes run record for England captains and Ricky Ponting’s happy birthdays | Cricket News

Benedict Bermange

Cricket Statistician

Australia need another six wickets to win the second Ashes Test and take a 2-0 lead over England; another good day for the hosts means yet another happy birthday for Ricky Ponting and while the tourists’ struggles go on, it was another day, another record for Joe Root

Joe Root has overtaken Sir Alastair Cook for runs scored by England Test captains

Australia are closing in on victory in the second Ashes Test and Sky Cricket statistician Benedict Bermange has all the key stats about a few English landmarks – not all of them positive – reached during day four in Adelaide…

Ricky Ponting celebrated his 47th birthday today. Perhaps fittingly, he is the only player to celebrate winning a Test on his birthday as many as three times.

Australia clearly had no faith in Nathan Lyon’s batting in this Test, twice declaring nine wickets down without letting him come to the crease. The only other No 11 to suffer the same indignity without being injured was New Zealand’s Chris Martin against Australia at Perth in 2001.

Seven different England bowlers took wickets in this Test, the most for them in a single Test since the Cape Town Test of January 1965. On that occasion, eight different England bowlers took at least one wicket, equalling the overall Test record they set against New Zealand at Christchurch in March 1951.

Dawid Malan took his first Test wickets and was one of seven England bowlers to strike in Australia’s second innings

England’s target of 468 would be the highest-ever successful run chase in Test history. There have only been four successful fourth-innings run chases of at least 400 in Test history:

England’s openers have now been dismissed for 13 ducks in 2021, by far the most suffered by any team in a calendar year:

When he reached 10 in his second innings, Joe Root overtook Alastair Cook’s England record of 4,844 runs when captaining the side: