England becomes the first nation to record 5,00,000 runs in Test cricket

England has become the first-ever nation to cross the landmark of 5,00,000 runs in Test cricket history. The Joe Root-led side touched the milestone in the ongoing fourth and final Test match against South Africa in The Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg.

England achieved this feat in their 1,022nd Test match, when skipper Joe Root on Day 1 took a single through the covers to cross the 5,00,000-run mark in red-ball cricket. Following them are their arch-rivals Australia, who have made 432,706 runs in 830 Tests. India stands third with 273,518 runs in 540 Tests, while the West Indies is at fourth position with 270,441 runs in 545 Tests.

HALF A MILLION! 😮The first country to the milestone! 👏 pic.twitter.com/jodkHN8fcb
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) January 24, 2020

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England, along with Australia, were the first teams to play a Test match (15th-19th March 1877) back in Melbourne. They are the only team to have played more than 1,000 Tests in history and are currently playing their 501st away Test against the Proteas. Opener and former England captain Alastair Cook has amassed the most runs (12,472) for England in red-ball cricket as the fifth-highest scorer in Tests.

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In the ongoing Johannesburg Test, England opted to bat first and finished 192/4 by the end of Day 1 courtesy of a decent 107-run opening stand between Zak Crawley and Dominic Sibley. At the time of writing, half-centuries from Crawley (66), Joe Root (53*), and Ollie Pope (56) have led England to a decent total of 263-5 with Root and Jos Buttler occupying the crease.