Joe Root Breaks Kapil Dev’s Unwanted World Record; Becomes First Player In Cricket’s 148-Year-Old History To…
Joe Root set an unwanted world record, which belonged to Kapil Dev for several years, despite scoring his first ton on Australian soil as England went 2-0 down in the 2025 Ashes, as Australia thrashed them by eight wickets in the second Test, post their victory by the same margin in the series opener at Perth.
Root helped England get a solid platform with a ton on the first day. The former England captain made an unbeaten knock of 138 in 206 balls as the Ben Stokes-led them posted 334 in the first innings, the highest score by a visiting team in a pink-ball Test in Australia.
However, England’s happiness was short-lived as the hosts showed their class by taking a massive first innings lead of 177 runs with a huge total of 511 on the board. In response, England put up another poor batting display and were bowled out for 241 with Root making just 15. Australia chased the target of 65 in just 10 overs.
Joe Root Sets Unwanted World Record
The defeat at Gabba means that Root has now played 16 matches in England but has yet to win a Test match. This is the most number of games a player has played in an away country without a win. Previously, Kapil Dev held the record as during his 16-year career, he never won a Test match in Pakistan, the country he made his debut. The ex-Indian captain played in 10 draws in Pakistan while losing five games.
Most Matches In A Country Without A Win
| Player | Matches Without Win | Country |
| Joe Root (England) | 16 | England |
| Kapil Dev (India) | 15 | Pakistan |
| Musthaq Mohammad (Pakistan) | 14 | England |
Among visiting players in Australia, Daniel Vettori has played the second-most games without a victory (12) with Ben Stokes (11) and Dawid Malan (10) behind him.
In the 16 games Root has played in England, they has lost 14 times. Only James Anderson and Alastair Cook have lost more games in a country away from home. Both the England cricket greats also lost 15 games in Australia. Meanwhile, Jackie Hobbs and Sachin Tendulkar also lost 14 each Down Under.
The ton at Gabba came in Root’s 30th innings in Australia, the second-longest a player has taken to get a century in a visiting country. Only Gordon Greenidge (32 in Australia) is ahead of him in the list.
Root has been part of every England Ashes touring team since 2013 and played in 16 of the 17 games England have played in. The Three Lions’ last victory on Australian soil was in the 2011 Sydney Test, when they won the Ashes 3-1. This is the last instance of a visiting team winning the Ashes. Although Australia have managed to draw the series 2-2 in 2019 and 2023 in England. England lost the 2013-14 Ashes 5-0 while losing the series in 2017-18 and 2021-22 by a 4-0 margin under Root’s captaincy.
England’s streak of 17 games is the second-longest a visiting team has gone without winning a Test in Australia, alongside Pakistan (1955-present) and West Indies (1997-2024). They are one behind New Zealand’s all-time record of 18 (1985-2011)
