Joe Root and Harry Brook also set the record for the highest-ever fourth-wicket partnership in Test cricket.
Joe Root and Harry Brook have recently etched their names in the history books with a mammoth partnership that is among the biggest in Test cricket. During England’s first Test of the ongoing 2024 series against Pakistan in Multan, the duo compiled a remarkable 454-run stand for the fourth wicket.
This partnership not only set a new record for the highest Test partnership by an England pair, surpassing the previous 411 runs by Peter May and Colin Cowdrey from 1957, but also placed them among the best partnerships in the world.
Root and Brook’s 454-run partnership currently ranks as the fourth-highest for any wicket in Test cricket. The all-time record is held by Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, who played an astonishing 624-run partnership against South Africa in 2006.
Second on the list is another Sri Lankan pair, Sanath Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama, who combined for 576 runs against India in 1997. Root and Brook’s effort also eclipses several legendary partnerships, such as the 451-run partnership between Bill Ponsford and Don Bradman in 1934 and the 449 partnership led by Australia’s Adam Voges and Shaun Marsh against the West Indies in 2015.
Highest partnership for fourth wicket in Test cricket
As well as ranking high on the all-time list, Root and Brook’s partnership is also the highest ever for the fourth wicket in Test cricket, surpassing the previous record of 449 set by Voges and Marsh. Their position is now the highest Test partnership for any English duo, a record that has remained unchanged for 67 years.
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Root and Brook’s stand helped England post a mammoth total of 823/7, giving them a 267-run lead over Pakistan. Root was dismissed for 262, while Harry Brook completed a fabulous triple century.
This performance shows both Root’s consistency as one of England’s greatest Test players and Brook’s emerging status as a key figure in the future of English cricket. Their record-breaking partnership is likely to be remembered as one of the most dominant displays in recent Test history.