Alastair Cook became the youngest batsman to reach the 10000-run mark in Tests (in terms of age) reaching the milestone aged 31 years and 158 days beating the record that was previously held by the Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, who had crossed the milestone aged 31 years and 326 days back in 2005. With the age still on his side, many have started backing the English Test captain to beat Tendulkar’s record for the most number of runs in Test matches as well, as he is just 5879 runs away from 15921 Test runs – which is Tendulkar’s aggregate.
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While Cook crossing the 10000-run mark was inevitable given the pace at which he had been scoring runs over the past 5 years and his relatively young age, there are quite a few batsmen in the international circuit who are also in line to cross the aforementioned milestone if they continue to play the way they have been in recent times and stay injury-free. Here, in this piece, we bring to you 5 such names and talk about the possibility of them getting to 10000 runs in Tests.
1. Younis Khan
Just like the incumbent English captain, another man who is on the verge of getting into the 10000-run club is former the Pakistan captain, Younis Khan. Younis has been in some prolific form over the past two years, especially in Test matches, and has been one of the lynchpins in the Pakistani Test team. Younis’ purple patch, or so to speak, began way back in 2004 and has continued since, as, over the past 12 years, his Test average has fallen below 50 only once – in 2012.
Over the past three years, i.e. in 2013, 2014 and 2015, Younis has scored 698, 1064, and 789 runs respectively, averaging 53.69, 66.50, and 60.69 respectively. The Pakistani veteran now has a total of 9116 runs to his name from 104 Test matches and is just 884 runs away from the 10000-run mark. He is already Pakistan’s most prolific run aggregator in Tests having surpassed Javed Miandad’s tally of 8,832 runs in October last year.
Although he is 38 years old, looking at his current form and the desire to play Test match cricket, it doesn’t seem like he has plans to retire anytime soon. Hence, if he continues to play for at least two more years, we might see a Pakistani entering into the 10000-run club in Tests for the first time.
2. AB de Villiers
The newly-discovered superman of limited-overs cricket has been equally good in the longest format of the game as well, as his record of 8074 runs from 106 Test matches at an average of 50.64 clearly indicates. Although his form has dipped since 2013, as he has averaged under 50 during the three years that have followed, his hunger for runs still remains intact, as was visible during his limited-overs exploits over the past two years wherein he broke the world record for the fastest 50, the fastest 100 and the fastest 150 in ODIs.
Questions had started looming over the South African’s Test future, but with the responsibilities of captaincy handed over to him, after Hashim Amla stepped down from his role, de Villiers has found a new source of inspiration to continue playing in the longest format of the game, despite the lure of T20 leagues around the globe, and his super-human status that has been accorded to him following his unbelievable feats in the shortest format of the game.
The South African captain is only 32 years old, and with the kind of fitness that he possesses, it would be safe to assume that he'd continue playing the game at least till the 2019 Cricket World Cup. If that happens, he has every chance of getting those 1926 runs that he needs to reach the 10000-run mark.
3. Hashim Amla
Another South African who is in with a very good chance to reach 10000 career runs is the former South African skipper Hashim Amla, who recently stepped down from captaincy to concentrate on his batting. The results of this move showed up immediately, as after having a lean 2015 wherein Amla could score only 251 runs from 8 Tests at an average of 22.81, he rose back to prominence, plundering 451 runs from the 3 games that South Africa played this year – at home against England – with 1 century and 3 fifties.
Amla has 7358 runs in Test cricket from 92 Test matches and he is 33 years old. 2642 runs are needed for him to reach 10000 Test runs and considering his form over the past 4 years – he averaged 70.93, 57.54, and 63.63 in 2012, 2013 and 2014 respectively – it can be assumed that he too would continue at least until the 2019 World Cup and maybe even beyond that.
The South African captain has also been extremely fit, as has been visible through his ground fielding and slip catching, and is surely a contestant to enter the 10000-run club.
4. Kane Williamson
The newly-appointed New Zealand captain, Kane Williamson, has earned a reputation of being one of the most classical batsmen of the modern era at a nascent age of just 25 years. The reasons behind such an ornamentation are well justified, as Williamson, in his short Test career has emerged out as one of the most prolific run-scorers in Tests for New Zealand. Having made his debut in 2010, the Blackcaps skipper has accumulated 4037 runs from 48 Tests at an average of just under 50, with 13 centuries to his name.
The years 2014 and 2015 were the coming-of-age days for the New Zealand youngster as he piled on runs in heavy proportions, accumulating 929 and 1172 runs respectively and averaged 61.93 and 90.15. In six years since his debut, the Kiwi has aggregated more than 4000 runs. While extrapolating is never a good way to predict a batsman’s future or form, by the sheer mention of his age, one would assume that he would play for New Zealand for at least 10 more years.
If that happens, he has every chance in the book to cross the 10000-run milestone, and in the process, become the first ever New Zealand batsman to do so Test matches. It would be interesting to see as to how Williamson conducts himself after being handed over the reigns in Test match cricket as well, and whether or not the captaincy affects his performance with the bat, as has often been seen with cricketers.
5. Steve Smith
Australia’s newest run-machine, and their incumbent leader in all three formats, Steven Smith has a story as unorthodox as his batting technique. Smith was first picked in the Australian team as a leg-spinner against Pakistan in 2010, when in the aftermath of Shane Warne’s retirement that had already continued for 3 years, Australia were haplessly searching for someone who could fill in the big gap that was left by the legend’s departure.
From being a part-time leg-spinner, Smith's ascendancy to the No. 3 batting slot, and him becoming the best batsman of the current Australian line-up in popular opinion is a tale that very few would believe. Smith had an unbelievable 2014, wherein he plundered 1146 runs from just 9 Test matches, and bettered it the following year when he ended up aggregating 1474 runs from 13 Test matches in 2015, averaging 81.85 and 73.70 respectively.
From 41 Test matches, Smith has amassed 3852 runs at a staggering average of 60.18 with 14 Test centuries to his name. At 27 years of age, and considering the fitness level that he has maintained over the past 6 years, one can expect him to play for Australia for at least 7 more years. With such a probability on the cards, Smith can be considered to be well in line to join the elite club and become the fourth Australian batsman to do so, after Allan Border, Steve Waugh, and Ricky Ponting.
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