ESPNcricinfo’s ongoing list of the greatest male international cricketers of the 21st century placed England’s Joe Root at number nine.
The ranking forms part of an evolving editorial project assessing elite performers across formats since the turn of the century. Root’s placement reflects sustained productivity and influence during a prolonged Test and limited-overs career with England.
ESPNcricinfo has been releasing the series incrementally, evaluating players against criteria tied to international impact rather than a single-season snapshot. Root’s inclusion near the top tier places him among a small group of batters regarded as era-defining.
The list is editorial in nature and subject to debate among fans and analysts who weigh statistics, conditions, and competition differently. Still, the ninth position marks formal recognition from one of cricket’s most widely read information platforms.
Root’s ranking arrives as part of a broader reckoning with modern greats, situating his body of work alongside contemporaries and predecessors who shaped the international game over the past two decades.
Publication of the list in stages allows ESPNcricinfo to contextualize each placement within the wider century-spanning project rather than releasing every rank simultaneously. Root accumulated extensive Test match runs across more than a decade with England, a record that underpins his placement among the century’s leading international batters in ESPNcricinfo’s editorial assessment.
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Sources:
https://www.espncricinfo.com/