Joe Root joins an absolutely elite list of cricketers to reach 10,000 Test runs

Joe Root has become just the 14th player to score 10,000 Test runs.

He got there in some style, too, bringing up his 26th Test match hundred and eventually securing a win for England against New Zealand in the first Test of an important summer.

In the process, he has also left the record keepers with some work to do. At 31 years and 157 days, he will now be sharing the record for the youngest cricketer to get to the gargantuan landmark.

Wonder who he’s sharing it with? Yes, you’ve got it right; Alastair Cook, who remains England’s leading run-getter in the whites with 12,472 runs to his name.

Root still has some way to go before he can get there, but who would rule it out?

The 31-year old will be quite relieved to get to 10,000, though. Landmarks like these often weigh heavy on the players’ minds, as we have seen with some of the greats of the game before – whether it’s James Anderson’s 600th Test wicket, Stuart Broad’s 500th Test scalp or Sachin Tendulkar’s 100th international century.

The focus will now shift to the second Test at Trent Bridge, which begins on June 10.

Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes will have a few decisions to make, particularly about the top order, which once again proved very easy to get through.

The likes of Harry Brooks are already knocking on the door, and it will be interesting to see whether England stick with the current crop or make wholesale changes right away.

Whatever the line-up, though, if the first Test is anything to go by, the Kiwis aren’t done and this series is only going to get yet more interesting.

Whoever said Test cricket is boring.