“Joe Root is going to finish on top” - Shane Watson picks England batter to finish with most Test runs among Fab 4

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The Fab 4 of Test cricket. Pic: ICC

Former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson has predicted that England batter Joe Root will finish his Test career with more runs than the other members of the 'Fab 4' club - Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson. He also opined that Root will get very close to Sachin Tendulkar’s Test record by the end of his career and, possibly, could even surpass the Indian legend.

Former England captain Root has 10015 runs from 118 Tests at an average of 49.57. While Kohli has 8043 runs from 101 Tests, Smith has 8010 from 85 matches. New Zealand skipper Williamson, meanwhile, has amassed 7289 runs from 87 Tests.

Root was recently in the news for his match-winning hundred in the Lord’s Test against New Zealand. Asked how far the England legend can go with regards to becoming the leading run-getter, Watson said on The ICC Review:

“He’s as good as anyone to be able to get as close as he can. For sure, he’s got a lot of great cricket in front of him, so I think he is going to get very close.”

On who among the 'Fab 4' is likely to finish with most Test runs, the Aussie added:

“Just by seeing where Joe Root is right now, he is the youngest one with Kane Williamson, who is 31 as well. Those two have still got a fair way to go. I think Joe Root is going to finish on top. For the other guys, it depends on how much cricket they continue to play. They’ve still got a lot of cricket left in them.”

Instead of writing off Kohli and Smith, the 40-year-old asserted:

“Virat Kohli and Steve Smith, they can still churn out the runs for the next three to four years. You never know, they’ll get right up there with the all-time run-scorers as well. We’ve been very fortunate to have those four in world cricket over the last six to seven years. To see them at the peak of their powers is always special.”

Out of the four, Kohli has lost steam in recent seasons. He doesn’t have a single century to his name since November 2019.

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“I’d be very surprised if he just doesn’t take off again” - Shane Watson on Joe Root

Watson asserted that Root could be all the more dangerous with the bat now that he is no longer leading the England Test side. He explained:

“Now that he is not captain, he’s going to have greater freedom. The pressure’s just off and I’d be very surprised if he just doesn’t take off again and make the most of the freedom that he’s going to have.”

Speaking about the England batter’s hunger for runs, he predicted:

“From a Test match point of view, he could play around 170-180 Test matches and if he gets around there, he’s going to be near Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar with the amount of runs that he could score in that period of time.”

Tendulkar and Ponting are the all-time leading Test run-getters. While the Indian legend has 15921 runs from 200 matches, the Aussie great has 13378 runs from 168 Tests.

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