Joe Root vs Pat Cummins is the equivalent of Steven Smith vs James Anderson. This time it is the best batter in England against the best bowler from Australia. Joe Root vs Pat Cummins is the battle that decides the date of the Ashes. This is a rivalry that is ongoing and it will be there for the next 2-3 Ashes series. One is the captain and the other is the captain.
Joe Root
Joe Root is the greatest England batter of all time to have ever played Test Cricket. Joe Root is the most consistent batter in the England team. Joe Root has so far played 153 Test Matches for England. He has scored 13006 Runs at an average of 50.8. He has hit 36 hundreds and 5 double hundreds in Test Cricket. Joe Root has also played in 180 ODIs so far and he has made 7126 runs at a good average of 49.1 with 18 Hundreds in ODI Cricket. Joe Root has made more than 19,000 runs in international cricket and 54 Hundreds. Take a look here Best innings by Joe Root in Test cricket
Pat Cummins
The World Test Championship and ODI World Cup winning captain for Australia Pat Cummins is one of the best in the world. He has played 67 Test Matches and he has taken 294 Wickets in Test Cricket at an average of 22.4. He has taken 13 Five Wicket Hauls and 2 times he has taken 10 wickets in a Test Match. He has also played 90 ODIs and he has taken 143 Wickets with 1 Five Wicket Haul. He has taken a total of 500+ Wickets in international cricket which includes 66 Wickets in T20I Cricket. A look here at Best Performances of Pat Cummins
Head to Head
Pat Cummins has bowled 536 balls to Joe Root in Test Cricket. Joe Root has made 286 runs against Pat Cummins while being dismissed 11 times so far in Test Cricket.
In the 54 balls that Pat Cummins has bowled to Joe Root in ODI Cricket he has made 54 runs and gotten out 3 times.
Memorable Encounters
The first memorable encounter between the two happened in the first Ashes Test Match in 2017 where Joe Root was dismissed by Pat Cummins at the score of 15. Pat Cummins bowled 18 balls to Joe Root in that innings. He was dismissed LBW
Another memorable encounter was the 2nd Test Match in 2019 where Joe Root was dismissed first ball by Pat Cummins in the second batting innings for England. He was out caught by Tim Paine.
In the first Test Match in 2023, it was Joe Root who got the upper hand as he made a fast 118 not out from just 152 balls. He hit 7 fours and 4 sixes in this innings. Pat Cummins bowled 19 balls in this innings to Joe Root but was not able to get him out.
