Joe Root's Landmark 150th Test Takes an Unexpected Turn
Everyone expected Joe Root's 150th Test to be another proud milestone in his decorated cricket career. But what happened in Christchurch left fans and commentators scratching their heads. On a day most would want to remember forever, Root ended up in an exclusive club for all the wrong reasons.
The English star found himself walking back to the pavilion on zero, having lasted just three balls before an inside-edge off New Zealand debutant Nathan Smith crashed into his stumps. Root’s golden moment was soured by his 13th Test duck, making him only the third player to register a duck in their 150th Test after Australian legends Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting. Not the sort of history anyone wants to make.
The World Test Championship Duck Woes
The numbers don’t get kinder. This duck was Root’s eighth since the World Test Championship began, pushing him past Virat Kohli and Steve Smith—both stuck on seven in the same period. While WTC runs have rightly grabbed attention, Joe Root seems to have hit a rough patch with ducks, finding himself out for zero more than any other top batter of this era.
It’s a strange twist: Root is usually England’s anchor, the one you trust to hold things together when wickets fall around him. He’s built up a mountain of runs—before this Test, he ranked as the fourth Englishman to notch up 150 appearances and had piled up 12,754 runs at an average above 51. Those stats put him among the all-time greats. But lately, his form has wobbled. Since his brilliant double-century in Multan against Pakistan, he’s struggled to string together big scores, collecting just 90 runs across five innings.
If you watched the Christchurch innings, you could feel the pressure bearing down. England came in feeling confident against New Zealand’s fresh-faced bowlers, and Root, with years of experience, was expected to set the tone. Instead, a bit of misfortune and sharp Kiwi bowling flipped the script. That third-ball inside edge seemed to sum up the streak of bad luck Root has faced lately.
There’s no doubt the spotlight is now brighter than ever on Root. Breaking a world record for WTC ducks isn’t something he’ll be proud of, but for cricket fans, it’s another curious wrinkle in a career that’s had its share of dramatic highs and frustrating lows. Will he bounce back and add another chapter to his legacy, or is this the start of a worrying phase for England’s batting talisman? Time will tell, but history will always remember the day Joe Root’s 150th Test became a stat for the record books—not for runs scored, but for a duck that no one saw coming.