Joe Root has been acclaimed as the greatest English batsman ever, but is it actually true? Paul Ormerod delves into the stats

Joe Root has delighted cricket fans for well over a decade. In the recent Test match against India, he moved into second place in the all-time world list of total number of Test match runs scored.

This performance has led many to acclaim Root as the greatest English batsman ever.

But is this the case? The question is not just about cricket. It raises general issues of the need to understand the background to statistics, how they are produced and in what context they appeared.

What the stats say

Root is certainly a strong contender. But in the 21st century many more Test matches are played compared to even 50 years ago. Great players from the past simply did not have the opportunity to amass so many runs.

This is why the........

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