Stats - Root equals Ponting, just ten behind Tendulkar

41 - Centuries for Joe Root in Test cricket. He is now joint-third in the list of top century-makers in Tests alongside Ricky Ponting, and is only behind Sachin Tendulkar (51) and Jacques Kallis (45).

24 - Test centuries by Root since the start of 2021. No other batter has scored more than ten hundreds in this period. Harry Brook, Kane Williamson, Steven Smith and Shubman Gill are tied second with ten apiece.

Root's 24 hundreds across six calendar years are only behind the marks of Ponting and Matthew Hayden, who scored 26 between 2001 and 2006. Only a week into 2026, Root has a whole year to surpass Ponting and Hayden's run.

17 - Number of 150-plus scores for Root in Tests, the fifth-highest in history. Tendulkar leads this list with 20. Root has the highest 150-plus scores among England batters, with Alastair Cook's 11 the next best.

Root now has a 150-plus score in Tests in seven different countries; only Tendulkar and Younis Khan have done it in more countries - eight apiece.

5 - Consecutive 50-plus scores in Tests that Root has converted into hundreds since the unbeaten 53 against India in the fourth innings in Leeds last year. It is the first instance of Root converting five consecutive 50-plus scores into hundreds.

He previously converted four fifties in succession in 2022 and 2024. Root is also the first England batter to convert five successive fifty-plus scores into Test hundreds since Cook, who converted six between 2012 and 2013.

27 - Number of dismissals (26 catches and a stumping) for Alex Carey behind the stumps in this Ashes series so far. Only two keepers have had more dismissals in a Test series than Carey: 29 by Brad Haddin in the 2013 Ashes and 28 by Rod Marsh in the 1982-83 Ashes. Carey should get another innings to increase his tally.

40 - Wickets for Ben Stokes in his opening spell in Tests since becoming England captain in June 2022. Only five bowlers have taken more wickets in their first spells in Test cricket in this period, with Mitchell Starc (48) being the lone quick bowler among them.

Overall, Stokes has 77 wickets as captain in Tests, joint-highest for England alongside Bob Willis' tally of 77, although from only 18 matches.

14 - Dismissals for Stokes in Tests off Starc's bowling, the most for him against a bowler and also the most for Starc against a batter.

There have been only ten instances of a batter being dismissed by a bowler more often in Tests, and only one of those were in the last 20 years - 17 for David Warner off Stuart Broad.