Root surpasses Cook as leading England run-scorer in test cricket. His next big target is Tendulkar

With an exquisite straight drive for four, Joe Root took another of Alastair Cook's records by becoming England’s highest run-scorer in test cricket.

Root surpassed the retired Cook’s total of 12,472 runs by reaching 71 during England's first innings on Day 3 of the first test against Pakistan on Wednesday.

The 33-year-old Root moved to fifth place on the all-time list of test run-scorers, behind India's Sachin Tendulkar (15,921), Australia's Ricky Ponting (13,378), South Africa's Jacques Kallis (13,289) and India's Rahul Dravid (13,288). All four above Root are retired and within reach of a batter who said ahead of the tour to Pakistan: “I see myself playing test cricket for a lot longer."

“There are other geniuses who can play genius innings. But Root is a genius with consistency,” said Cook, who was commentating on the match for BBC radio when his record was taken by Root.

Root, who is technically excellent and owns pretty much all the shots, overtook Cook’s record of 33 test centuries by an England batter last month when he made hundreds in both innings against Sri Lanka at Lord’s. On Wednesday, he went on to reach his 35th test hundred — and first in Pakistan — and lies sixth on the all-time list of century-makers.

“I’ve never seen that hunger, determination or relentlessness in anyone’s batting really,” Cook said of Root. “He does that in an elegant way.”

Ben Stokes, the England test captain who is sitting out the first match of the series because of injury, praised Root’s character and achievement in a video released by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

“The selflessness that he has is an incredible attribute for him,” Stokes said. “He always puts the team first, and the fact that he’s got so many runs is just a bonus for us. He’s an incredible player. It’s going to take a long, long time for someone to come in and break that record. Just a great bloke. And an unbelievable feat to score that many runs.

“But the non-selfishness that he possesses is one thing I think sets him above or sets him apart from anybody else who is going to play for England for a long time.”

Root waved to his teammates soon after reaching the milestone before he raised his bat in acknowledgement. He shook hands with Stokes and bowling mentor James Anderson as he walked off the field at the lunch break, shortly after moving above Cook's total of test runs.

Root is playing in his 147th test and came into the Pakistan series averaging more than 50, whereas Cook made 161 test appearances and batted in 291 innings, averaging 45.35.

They are England’s third and fourth most-capped players, behind now-retired fast bowlers Anderson and Stuart Broad.

Root has more runs against India than any other opposition — 2,846 in 30 tests. Next is Australia, against whom he has 2,428 in 34 tests, while his best average is against Sri Lanka at 62.54.

Root was England captain from 2017-22. He averaged 52.80 before the captaincy, 46.45 during it, and he is back to his prior level since standing down.

The most prolific year of his test career was in 2021, when he scored 1,708 runs. He has passed 1,000 runs in a year five times.

He has settled at No. 4 in England's batting order and demonstrated during the recent summer tests against the West Indies and Sri Lanka that he has slightly reined in the bold and occasionally reckless approach he and his England teammates adopted early in the so-called “Bazball” era under coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes.

Those risky ramp shots and reverse scoops are mostly gone — though he still got himself out attempting one against the Sri Lankans at Lord's — and he is harder to dismiss for it.

Root's next big target is displacing Tendulkar — the “Little Master” — atop the all-time list and, injury permitting, he has a good chance of doing so.

“You could say Sachin is still the favorite, but just,” Cook said.

AP Sports Writer Rizwan Ali in Islamabad, Pakistan, contributed to this story.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

England's Joe Root, left, who is now England's leading test run-scorer. is congratulated by Ben Stokes as he walks off the field on the lunch break during the third day of the first test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

England's Joe Root plays a shot during the third day of the first test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

England's Joe Root walks off the field on the lunch break during the third day of the first test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

England's Joe Root, right, chat with Ben Duckett as they walk off the field on the lunch break during the third day of the first test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

England's Joe Root, left, who is now England's leading test run-scorer. is congratulated by James Anderson as he walks off the field on the lunch break during the third day of the first test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

England's Zak Crawley, left, and and Joe Root walk off the field on the end of the second day game of the first test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

England's Ben Duckett, left, and Joe Root bumps their fists to celebrate their hundred runs partnership during the third day of the first test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

England's Joe Root celebrates after scoring fifty during the third day of the first test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

England's Joe Root plays a shot during the third day of the first test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

LONDON (AP) — Rafael Varona Blakstad had only asked for directions on campus. The guy wearing NFL Academy gear surprised the London native with his answer.

“He said ‘Have you ever played football?’ in the most American accent I’ve ever heard. I was kind of hooked from there,” said Varona Blakstad, who left a prominent rugby club to become a wide receiver.

The teenager and his mom had been visiting Loughborough University, where the NFL Academy is based. The guy they bumped into was Lamonte Winston, head of the academy.

Germans and Swedes typically comprise most of the top European prospects for American college football, but the U.K. talent is gaining momentum.

The NFL academy, which opened in 2019, has been sharpening its local recruitment and the results are starting to show with several recent graduates now playing for Power Four conference schools.

“The British kids are getting there,” Winston said. “Soccer and rugby are king. It's not the norm over here for kids to play multiple sports. You play one sport — that’s it."

That's why it was such a surprise when Wales rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit switched to American football and joined the NFL's international player pathway program.

The 23-year-old Rees-Zammit was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs but didn't make their 53-man roster. He then joined the Jacksonville Jaguars to be on the team's practice squad as a wide receiver. The Jags come to London this week and play the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

The academy uses social media and personal networks to recruit mostly Europeans ages 16 to 19. They tapped into the Rees-Zammit connection, too, having the former rugby star call Varona Blakstad when the teenager was deciding to leave Saracens rugby academy.

“He's achieved everything a youngster would want to in rugby and the fact that he was making a change over to American football really meant a lot to me,” the 19-year-old Varona Blakstad said.

Varona Blakstad was also an England academy player, meaning he was on track to play for his country some day.

He hopes that by switching now, he'll have a chance at a Division I scholarship. He's 6-foot-5 and was timed at 4.6 in the 40-yard dash.

Varona Blakstad didn't need height or speed, though, for his biggest play Tuesday when the academy played U.S. high school De La Salle at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The academy lost 31-9 but Varona Blakstad gave home fans a boost when he got into the end zone on the final play of the game and caught a tipped pass.

“I just couldn't believe it. I was like ‘this is really happening.’ I just started playing the sport less than two months ago and now I've just caught my first touchdown at Tottenham stadium," he said.

Academy graduate Timi Oke went from south London to Northwestern despite the cornerback taking up football at age 18. Other English talents are offensive tackles Daniel Akinkunmi (Oklahoma) and Akram Elnagmi (Pitt commit), as well as Mississippi State tight end Seydou Traore.

British fans like the NFL, which has played regular-season games in London since 2007, but there are few options for kids who want to play tackle football.

“The U.K. probably should be No. 1 in terms of the amount of athletes coming out of there,” said Brandon Collier, who runs Germany-based PPI Recruits. “There’s a lot of talent there.”

Indeed, Travis Clayton went from lower-tier English rugby to being selected by the Buffalo Bills in the seventh round of this year’s NFL draft as offensive tackle prospect.

British-born players who have been successful in the NFL like Osi Umenyiora typically had moved to the United States for high school first.

Across the U.K. there are few clubs that offer tackle football for teenagers, and usually not 11-vs-11.

Collier said his upcoming camp in Germany in conjunction with 24/7 Sports has no British kids registered.

“It happened last year as well. We had 24/7 here and literally 20-something kids went Division I from this camp and we had no kids from the UK,” said Collier, who no longer holds camps in England due to lack of local interest.

Varona Blakstad would sometimes go to a park to run routes and catch passes with friends, but that was it.

“I never realized it was something you could play in England,” he said.

Winston, who previously worked as player development director for the Kansas City Chiefs, said creating a junior academy would be a logical next step.

“To play tackle football, you have to have places for kids to develop in tackle football — you just do,” he said. "We’d love to have a junior academy here at our NFL academy.”

The growing popularity of flag football is going to create demand, he said, and it would also be a good landing spot for younger teenagers who miss the cut at elite rugby or soccer clubs.

Varona Blakstad's case is a bit different in that he was already at Saracens, one of the country's best rugby clubs. Winston said they have a good relationship with Saracens.

“We don’t poach. We don’t need to do that,” he said.

Varona Blakstad has one year at the academy to impress scouts. That amounts to a handful of games followed by summer competition at U.S. camps.

“It’s surreal and it’s an amazing opportunity.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

De La Salle High School coach and former NFL running back Maurice Jones-Drew shakes hands after a football game between the NFL Academy team and De La Salle High School in London, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

NFL Academy player Rafael Varona Blackstad, wears a helmet during a football game between the NFL Academy team and De La Salle High School, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in London. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

NFL Academy player Rafael Varona Blackstad, left, kicks a ball during a football game between the NFL Academy team and De La Salle High School, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in London. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

NFL Academy player Rafael Varona Blackstad, second left, poses with his family after a football game between the NFL Academy team and De La Salle High School, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in London. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

De La Salle High School coach and former NFL running back Maurice Jones-Drew, center, talks to his team during a football game between the NFL Academy team and De La Salle high school, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in London. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

De La Salle running back Duece Jones-Drew carries the ball during a football game between the NFL Academy team and De La Salle high school, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in London. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

NFL Academy player Rafael Varona Blackstad, center, listens to the coach after a football game between the NFL Academy team and De La Salle High School, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in London. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

NFL Academy player Rafael Varona Blackstad, left, celebrates during a football game between the NFL Academy team and De La Salle High School, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in London. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

NFL Academy player Rafael Varona Blackstad, center, listens to the coach after a football game between the NFL Academy team and De La Salle High School, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in London. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)