Record-breaking Root is England's 'greatest ever', says Pope

Ollie Pope labelled Joe Root as England's "greatest ever batter" after the former Test captain helped inspire England to an emphatic win over Pakistan.

Jack Leach took the three wickets England required on day five for the record-breaking innings and 47-run triumph, which handed the tourists a 1-0 lead in their three-match series.

The win saw England become the first team in Test history to concede over 500 in the first innings, and still end up winning by an innings.

The turnaround was built on Harry Brook (317) and Root (262), as England amassed 823-7 before stand-in captain Pope declared, their highest total since 1938 and the fourth-highest in Test cricket history.

In the process, Root moved onto 12,664 runs in the longest format, seeing him surpass Alastair Cook (12,472) as England's all-time leading Test run scorer.

"What a player. I admire his consistency and longevity," Pope said of Root.

"I think he is playing his best ever cricket. When he gets on a hot run, he makes it count, and he is England's greatest-ever batter.

"He is a joy to be around in the changing room."

While Root tallied up his highest Test score, Brook became the sixth England player to score a triple-century.

Together, Root and Brook surpassed England's previous record partnership of 409 runs – set by Colin Cowdrey and Peter May against the West Indies in 1957.

When Root, who is now England's record run scorer in Tests, eventually fell, it brought an end to a partnership of 454 - the fourth-highest in the history of the longest format.

"From a personal point you want to put in those scores that's always the case for a batter, but it was a joy to watch the way Joe and Harry played," Pope said.

"Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley were awesome too – it was a joy to watch, and they're great players."

The first team in Test history to concede over 500 in the first innings, and end up winning by an innings... #PAKvENG | #EnglandCricket pic.twitter.com/N2Ey1dCYVL

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) October 11, 2024

On the other hand, it was another humiliating defeat for Pakistan, who are enduring one of the worst periods in their history.

Pakistan are now winless in their last 11 Test matches on home soil, but captain Shan Masood said England's impressive display is something his side can learn from.

"Like I said, 220 in the third innings, depending on what kind of lead you have, can also be a good score," Masood said.

"The trick for us is that we should learn from England as well, they found out ways to get those 20 wickets. You can't win Test matches without taking 20 wickets.

"As a team, we have that second innings of batting to improve, but we must also take 20 wickets."