England’s record-breaking batter is set for his 150th Test and says he will play for as long as he loves the game

“I know this one,” Joe Root says with a little grin as he confirms the latest milestone he will reach in Test cricket on Wednesday when England play New Zealand in Christchurch. “It will be my 150th Test. We’re fortunate to play so much Test cricket compared to other nations, so you can rattle them up rather quickly. But I’ve had to work hard and overcome different challenges along the way, so I’m very grateful to have had so many chances.”

A minute earlier Root had been uncertain when I asked him if he knew what it would mean were he to score another 625 Test runs. A modest and generous man, Root thought hard and then admitted he had no clue. The answer is that, once those runs have been accumulated, he will become the second highest scorer in Test cricket. He will overtake Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and Ricky Ponting and trail only Sachin Tendulkar.