Joe Root arguably is England’s greatest batter of all time. No other English cricketer has scored more runs than Root in Tests, ODIs and in international cricket, but one thing that the 34-year-old Yorkshireman is still searching for is his first-ever Test win in Australia. Since making his Test debut for the Poms on December 13, 2012, in Ahmedabad against India, Root has played 17 Test matches in Australia but has not managed to win even one. In fact, he has lost 15 out of those 17 matches Down Under, which is a joint record of losing the most Test matches in an away country.
Root’s former England teammates Alastair Cook and James Anderson have also lost 15 Tests each in Australia as England players, but unlike Root, they have won a few matches as well in Australia.
Root travelled to Australia for the first time with the England Test team in 2013 to take part in the 2013-14 edition of the Ashes series. But in that series, English got whitewashed. He, however, played only matches in that assignment and lost all of them.
In the 2017-18 Ashes series Down Under, Root led England but lost four matches, and one game (in Melbourne) ended in a draw. In the 2021-22 Ashes, England once again played under Root’s leadership and again lost four matches, and one fixture ended in a draw.
