Joe Root: I’m not chasing all-time Test run record, there’s one thing I want more

England star Joe Root could become Test cricket’s all-time leading run-scorer, but there’s another ‘massive’ dream he craves.

Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar sits atop the mountain for the most Test runs with a staggering count of 15,921.

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Ricky Ponting (13,378), Jacques Kallis (13,289) and Rahul Dravid (13,288) follow, with Root sitting fifth in the leaderboard on 12,578 runs.

Root recently surpassed Sir Alastair Cook as England’s all-time leading Test run-scorer thanks to a staggering knock of 262 in the first Test against Pakistan.

Although Tendulkar’s record appears some distance away, Root has the benefit of being the only member of the top five who is active and at age 33, time is on his side to continue accumulating runs.

However, in an exclusive interview with England great and talkSPORT cricket pundit Steve Harmison, Root revealed Tendulkar’s record is not in his sights.

But there is one thing he is desperate to achieve: win the Ashes on Australian soil.

“For me, that would be massive,” Root told talkSPORT.

“And I think part of the problem from the last couple of times I went as captain, I wanted it too much.

“I looked too much into it and there were so many things that didn’t quite fall into place for us. We didn’t obviously perform when we were there too.

“So I think more than anything for me, it will be about trying to enjoy the whole experience of it and soak it all in, enjoy everything that comes with it. You, as a touring team, against a whole country, as it can be over there.

“What a carrot to be dangled.”

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Root failed to win a single Ashes Test as captain when England toured Australia, with the hosts winning eight of the ten Tests played.

Ben Stokes has since taken over the captaincy but also failed to reclaim the Ashes in 2023 when Australia toured England as both nations won two Tests each, with the fourth Test drawn.

England will be desperate to avoid a fifth-straight Ashes series which ends with Australia retaining the urn when coach Brendon McCullum‘s side travel down under for the 2025/26 Ashes.

Root’s mastery with the bat will be vital if England are to have any hope at toppling the Aussies.

By the time the next Ashes series rolls around, Root may also have moved up a few places in the leaderboard for all-time Test runs.

However, the 33-year-old explained to Harmison why he isn’t devoted to breaking Tendulkar’s record.

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“In terms of numbers and stuff, I feel like if you set goals, you have a chance of missing it and being disappointed, to be honest,” Root said.

“Which might sound quite negative, but for me, it’s about trying to stay in the moment and play the situation of the game.

“We’ve gone from Pakistan, where the conditions are, very different to what it is here (in New Zealand). So, being able to ready yourself in these conditions, the different challenges New Zealand pose as a team, the wickets pose as well, I think readying for that and playing what’s right in front of you, that’s what’s going to get me the biggest scores and help us win games.

“Ultimately, if you’re playing on a tricky surface, 40 might be a massive score. So you can’t always judge yourself on massive hundreds. It’s how you can affect the game, how you can help get your team in a position of strength and wrestle yourself across the line as winners.”

Root will look to continue piling up the runs during England’s three-Test series against New Zealand.

The first Test begins on Wednesday and will be played at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.

talkSPORT has the exclusive radio commentary rights to this series, and you can hear every ball on talkSPORT 2.