‘He’s Done It Again’: Joe Root Hits 160 in Sydney as Eyes Turn to 2029 Ashes

At 35, when most cricketers are contemplating retirement announcements and testimonial matches, Joe Root is instead contemplating something audacious: playing until he’s nearly 40, chasing down a record once considered untouchable, and returning to Australia one more time to finally conquer the venue that’s tormented English batsmen for generations.

Joe Root solidified his status as one of cricket’s modern-day immortals on Monday (January 5, 2026), crafting a magnificent 160 on Day 2 of the fifth Ashes Test at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground. Despite Australia having already retained the urn with a commanding 3-1 series lead meaning England are playing for pride rather than silverware Root’s masterclass lifted England to 384 all out and showcased exactly why he remains indispensable to his team’s ambitions. More significantly, the knock drew him level with Australian legend Ricky Ponting on the all-time list of Test centurions, placing him within realistic striking distance of records once thought beyond reach.

Following his innings, the quietly spoken Yorkshireman dropped a bombshell that has cricket fans and statisticians immediately recalculating timelines: he hinted he plans to play on until the 2029-30 Ashes tour in Australia, when he will be approaching his 40th birthday.

Resuming on 72 overnight, Root navigated a disciplined Australian attack with the patience and precision that have become his trademark, reaching his century off 146 balls. It marked his second hundred of the current series and, most significantly, his first Test century with the red ball on Australian soil a drought-breaking achievement that had hung over his otherwise stellar career.

Root’s historic statistical position:

• The Century Milestone: Root now has 41 Test hundreds, joining Ponting in joint third place on the all-time list. Only South Africa’s Jacques Kallis (45) and India’s Sachin Tendulkar (51) stand ahead of him and suddenly, those targets don’t seem so distant.
• The Tendulkar Chase: With 13,937 career runs, Root has closed to within 1,984 runs of Tendulkar’s seemingly untouchable all-time record of 15,921. Given his prolific recent form 24 Test centuries since the start of 2021 alone analysts are no longer asking if Root can break the record but when. At his current scoring rate, he could reach it within two years.
• Marathon Innings Specialist: This 160 represents Root’s 17th Test score of 150 or more, placing him behind only Don Bradman (18), Brian Lara (19), Kumar Sangakkara (19), and Tendulkar (20) in the history of the game. He’s in rarefied company, sharing statistical space with cricket’s absolute pantheon.

While the Ashes urn is staying in Australia a painful reality for English fans the recent Boxing Day victory at the MCG, England’s first Test win on Australian soil in 15 years, has fundamentally shifted the team’s psychological makeup. Root believes the crushing “baggage” of previous Ashes humiliations is finally lifting from the shoulders of younger squad members who’ve spent their entire careers hearing about failures in Australia.

“I don’t know how many opportunities I’m going to get to come back to Australia,” Root told reporters in the post-play press conference, his words carefully measured. When pressed about whether he’d consider the next tour scheduled for 2029-30 four years away, when he’ll be 39 years old his response electrified the room: “Who knows? We’ll see how things unfold in time. I’d love to.”

“If Joe Root is still playing in four years, still scoring centuries at 39, that would be absolutely extraordinary. But then again, everything about his career has been extraordinary,” commented former England captain Michael Vaughan, now working as a broadcaster.

“The record is there for him. Tendulkar’s 51 centuries looked impossible for anyone to approach, but Root is doing it. And he’s doing it in an era where Test cricket is harder for batsmen than ever,” noted cricket statistician Mohandas Menon, highlighting the declining batting averages across international cricket in recent years.

The day wasn’t entirely perfect for the former England captain. Root spent significant time off the field during Australia’s first-innings response, suffering from debilitating back cramps after his marathon stint at the crease a reminder that at 35, the physical demands of Test cricket take their toll. While England’s medical team expects him to be fully fit for the remainder of the Test, his enforced absence allowed Australia’s aggressive left-hander Travis Head to tear into the English attack with a blistering, unbeaten 91, leaving the hosts comfortably positioned at 166-2 by stumps.

Root’s entire Australian tour has been a narrative of personal redemption and the shedding of burdens. After failing to score a Test century in three previous tours Down Under a glaring omission on an otherwise impeccable CV he finally broke through with a sublime 138 in the day-night Test in Brisbane earlier in the series. His 160 at the SCG serves as both vindication and a “thank you” to the Barmy Army, England’s devoted traveling supporters whose unwavering backing he acknowledged with his now-signature understated shoulder-shrug celebration upon reaching his century.

The gesture has become iconic Root’s humble, almost apologetic acknowledgment of achievement, as if he’s slightly embarrassed by his own brilliance, a very English response to excellence.

If Root does play on until 2029, the mathematics become genuinely exciting. He’s currently averaging roughly six Test centuries per year over the past four years. Even with age-related decline factored in, he could realistically add 15-20 more centuries to his tally by 2029, which would take him past Kallis, potentially past Ponting’s old Australian record, and within legitimate striking distance of Tendulkar’s 51.

More immediately, the 1,984 runs separating him from Tendulkar’s all-time aggregate record represents perhaps 18-24 months of cricket at his current scoring rate. By the time England tour India in early 2027, Root could be within a few hundred runs. By the 2027 Ashes in England, he could break it on home soil.

The prospect has energized English cricket in a way few individual pursuits have. Test cricket, often declared dying or dead by various pundits, suddenly has a compelling multi-year narrative that transcends individual series results: watching one of England’s greatest batsmen chase down records held by legends, potentially rewriting the sport’s statistical history books in real-time.

For now, though, there’s still a Test match to complete in Sydney. Australia holds a comfortable position, Root’s back remains questionable, and England faces the prospect of a 3-2 series defeat rather than the 3-1 margin they’d hoped for after the Melbourne victory.

But in the longer arc of cricket history, this series regardless of its outcome will be remembered as the tour when Joe Root finally conquered Australia, when he drew level with Ponting, and when he openly declared his ambition to return at 39 to do it all again.

“He’s done it again,” has become the refrain among English supporters, a celebration of consistency that borders on disbelief. And if Root has his way, they’ll be saying it for years to come perhaps all the way until he’s standing at the crease in 2029, gray in his beard, still accumulating runs, still rewriting records, still defying time and expectation.

The chase is on. And for once, England has a reason to believe their best years in Australia might actually be ahead of them, not behind.

Also Read / Ashes Retained: Australia crush England in 11 days to secure unassailable 3-0 lead.