Key takeaways
- Joe Root has 41 Test centuries as of September 2026, level with Ricky Ponting for third-most.
- His 13 Test hundreds against India are the most by any batter against India.
- Lord’s is his best ground with 8 hundreds; 24 of his 41 have come in England.
- Six are double centuries, with a highest score of 262 against Pakistan in Multan.
- His latest Test hundred is 160 against Australia in Sydney in January 2026.
Joe Root has 41 Test centuries as of September 2026, the joint third-most in Test history alongside Ricky Ponting. His latest is 160 against Australia in Sydney in January 2026. Thirteen of the 41 have come against India, the most by any batter against India, and 24 have come at home in England.
Below is the full list of all 41 hundreds with opponent, venue and month, followed by breakdowns by opponent and ground, his double centuries and the records attached to them. Figures are counted up to the third England vs Pakistan Test at Edgbaston in September 2026, where Root scored 62 not out.
Joe Root Test centuries: quick facts
| Stat | Figure |
|---|---|
| Test hundreds | 41 |
| Double hundreds | 6 |
| Highest score | 262 vs Pakistan, Multan, October 2024 |
| Hundreds at home / away | 24 / 17 |
| Most against one team | 13 vs India |
| Ground with most hundreds | Lord’s, 8 |
| First and latest | 104 vs New Zealand, Leeds, May 2013; 160 vs Australia, Sydney, January 2026 |
| Test career (as of September 2026) | 169 Tests, 14,278 runs, average 50.45 |
Joe Root centuries list: all 41 Test hundreds
An asterisk means not out. Dates are the month in which the Test started.
| No. | Score | Against | Venue | Month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 104 | New Zealand | Headingley, Leeds | May 2013 |
| 2 | 180 | Australia | Lord’s, London | Jul 2013 |
| 3 | 200* | Sri Lanka | Lord’s, London | Jun 2014 |
| 4 | 154* | India | Trent Bridge, Nottingham | Jul 2014 |
| 5 | 149* | India | The Oval, London | Aug 2014 |
| 6 | 182* | West Indies | St George’s, Grenada | Apr 2015 |
| 7 | 134 | Australia | Sophia Gardens, Cardiff | Jul 2015 |
| 8 | 130 | Australia | Trent Bridge, Nottingham | Aug 2015 |
| 9 | 110 | South Africa | Wanderers, Johannesburg | Jan 2016 |
| 10 | 254 | Pakistan | Old Trafford, Manchester | Jul 2016 |
| 11 | 124 | India | Rajkot | Nov 2016 |
| 12 | 190 | South Africa | Lord’s, London | Jul 2017 |
| 13 | 136 | West Indies | Edgbaston, Birmingham | Aug 2017 |
| 14 | 125 | India | The Oval, London | Sep 2018 |
| 15 | 124 | Sri Lanka | Pallekele | Nov 2018 |
| 16 | 122 | West Indies | Gros Islet, St Lucia | Feb 2019 |
| 17 | 226 | New Zealand | Seddon Park, Hamilton | Nov 2019 |
| 18 | 228 | Sri Lanka | Galle | Jan 2021 |
| 19 | 186 | Sri Lanka | Galle | Jan 2021 |
| 20 | 218 | India | Chennai | Feb 2021 |
| 21 | 109 | India | Trent Bridge, Nottingham | Aug 2021 |
| 22 | 180* | India | Lord’s, London | Aug 2021 |
| 23 | 121 | India | Headingley, Leeds | Aug 2021 |
| 24 | 109 | West Indies | North Sound, Antigua | Mar 2022 |
| 25 | 153 | West Indies | Bridgetown, Barbados | Mar 2022 |
| 26 | 115* | New Zealand | Lord’s, London | Jun 2022 |
| 27 | 176 | New Zealand | Trent Bridge, Nottingham | Jun 2022 |
| 28 | 142* | India | Edgbaston, Birmingham | Jul 2022 |
| 29 | 153* | New Zealand | Basin Reserve, Wellington | Feb 2023 |
| 30 | 118* | Australia | Edgbaston, Birmingham | Jun 2023 |
| 31 | 122* | India | Ranchi | Feb 2024 |
| 32 | 122 | West Indies | Trent Bridge, Nottingham | Jul 2024 |
| 33 | 143 | Sri Lanka | Lord’s, London | Aug 2024 |
| 34 | 103 | Sri Lanka | Lord’s, London | Aug 2024 |
| 35 | 262 | Pakistan | Multan | Oct 2024 |
| 36 | 106 | New Zealand | Basin Reserve, Wellington | Dec 2024 |
| 37 | 104 | India | Lord’s, London | Jul 2025 |
| 38 | 150 | India | Old Trafford, Manchester | Jul 2025 |
| 39 | 105 | India | The Oval, London | Jul 2025 |
| 40 | 138* | Australia | The Gabba, Brisbane | Dec 2025 |
| 41 | 160 | Australia | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jan 2026 |
How many centuries has Joe Root scored against each team?
- India: 13
- Australia: 6
- New Zealand: 6
- Sri Lanka: 6
- West Indies: 6
- South Africa: 2
- Pakistan: 2
Root has not scored a Test hundred against Bangladesh, Zimbabwe or Ireland. Against Australia, it took him a long time to get one in their country. His 138 not out at the Gabba in December 2025 was his first Test hundred in Australia, and he followed it with 160 at the SCG in January 2026.
Joe Root centuries against India: the record
India is the side Root has scored most against. His 13 Test hundreds against India are the most by any batter, ahead of Steve Smith’s 11, according to Wisden. Ten of the 13 came in England and three in India.
- In India: 124 in Rajkot (2016), 218 in Chennai (2021) and 122 not out in Ranchi (2024).
- 2021 home series: four hundreds (109, 180*, 121, and later 142* when the fifth Test was played at Edgbaston in July 2022). He scored 737 runs across that series.
- 2025 home series: three hundreds (104 at Lord’s, 150 at Old Trafford and 105 at The Oval) and 537 runs at an average of 67.12.
Root is also the first batter to score 500 or more runs in a Test series against India on three occasions: 2014, 2021-22 and 2025. The 218 in Chennai, in February 2021, came in his 100th Test. For more on that 2025 series, see RVCJ’s report on Root’s world record against India.
Joe Root double centuries
Six of Root’s 41 hundreds are double hundreds. Four of them were made away from home.
- 200* vs Sri Lanka, Lord’s, 2014
- 254 vs Pakistan, Old Trafford, 2016
- 226 vs New Zealand, Hamilton, 2019
- 228 vs Sri Lanka, Galle, 2021
- 218 vs India, Chennai, 2021
- 262 vs Pakistan, Multan, 2024 (his highest Test score)
Where has Joe Root scored his centuries?
Root’s favourite ground is Lord’s, where he has eight Test hundreds. Trent Bridge comes next with five.
| Ground | Hundreds |
|---|---|
| Lord’s, London | 8 |
| Trent Bridge, Nottingham | 5 |
| The Oval, London | 3 |
| Edgbaston, Birmingham | 3 |
| Headingley, Leeds | 2 |
| Old Trafford, Manchester | 2 |
| Galle, Sri Lanka | 2 |
| Basin Reserve, Wellington | 2 |
| Other grounds (one each) | 14 |
Away from home, his 17 hundreds are spread across the West Indies (4), New Zealand (3), Sri Lanka (3), India (3), Australia (2), South Africa (1) and Pakistan (1).
Joe Root’s major Test century records
- Joint third on the all-time list: 41 hundreds, level with Ricky Ponting and behind Sachin Tendulkar (51) and Jacques Kallis (45).
- England’s leading century-maker: he passed Alastair Cook’s 33 with his 34th hundred, the second-innings 103 against Sri Lanka at Lord’s in August 2024.
- Most hundreds in one country: 24 in England, ahead of the 23 that Kallis, Ponting and Mahela Jayawardene each made at home, as reported by Wisden.
- Most hundreds against India: 13.
- Most fifty-plus scores: his 62 not out at Edgbaston in September 2026 was his 110th score of 50 or more in Tests (41 hundreds and 69 fifties), and the 69 fifties are a Test record, one more than Tendulkar.
To catch Tendulkar’s 51, Root needs 10 more Test hundreds. Across his career so far he has averaged roughly one hundred every 4 Tests (169 Tests, 41 hundreds), which is simple division and not a forecast.
How Root’s century rate has changed
Root’s hundreds have come in phases. He made 17 in his first 7 years, up to his 226 in Hamilton in November 2019. Then came a burst: from January 2021 to January 2026 he scored 24 hundreds, more than half his total.
Fourteen of his centuries came during his first spell as England captain, from 2017 to 2022. He was named full-time Test captain again on 30 July 2026, after Ben Stokes retired. He has not scored a Test hundred since the Sydney Test in January 2026, though he made 66 and 62 not out against Pakistan in the 2026 home series.
His next chance comes in South Africa, where England’s three-Test series starts at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on 17 December 2026, as per the ECB. Root’s only Test hundred in South Africa so far, 110 in January 2016, came at that same ground. RVCJ has also covered how Root stands against Tendulkar in this report on his record chase.
Frequently asked questions
How many Test centuries does Joe Root have?
Joe Root has 41 Test centuries as of September 2026. Only Sachin Tendulkar (51) and Jacques Kallis (45) have more, and Ricky Ponting also has 41.
How many centuries has Joe Root scored against India in Tests?
Root has 13 Test hundreds against India, the most by any batter against India. Ten came in England and three in India.
What is Joe Root’s highest Test score?
His highest Test score is 262 against Pakistan in Multan in October 2024. It is one of his six double centuries.
When did Joe Root score his last Test century?
His most recent Test century is 160 against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in the fifth Ashes Test that started on 4 January 2026.
At which ground has Joe Root scored the most Test centuries?
Lord’s, with eight Test hundreds. Trent Bridge is second with five.
Sources: Wikipedia, list of Joe Root’s international centuries; Wisden, most Test centuries; NewsBytes, Root’s Test stats after Edgbaston; ECB, South Africa tour fixtures.
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