'Winning the Ashes in Australia would mean more than anything'

The big interview Joe Root Ashe steels himself for his 150th Test tomorrow, the start ofacrucial period for England, the record-breaking batter is intent on seizing the day

- Donald McRae

"I know this one," Joe Root says with a little grin as he confirms the latest milestone he will reach in Test cricket on Wednesday when England play New Zealand in Christchurch.

"It will be my 150th Test. We're fortunate to play so much Test cricket compared to other nations, so you can rattle them up rather quickly. But I've had to work hard and overcome different challenges along the way, so I'm very grateful to have had so many chances."

A minute earlier Root had been uncertain when asked if he knew what it would mean were he to score another 625 Test runs. A modest and generous man, Root thought hard and then admitted he had no clue. The answer is that, once those runs have been accumulated, he will become the second highest scorer in Test cricket. He will overtake Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and Ricky Ponting and trail only Sachin Tendulkar.

It might seem a small sacrilege to consider the weight of Root's monumental achievements in purely statistical terms. He bats with such beauty and grace that it is far more pleasurable to watch a sumptuous highlights reel. But as Root racks up yet more records it's worthwhile to consider the mighty numbers for a while. Last month, while hitting a double century against Pakistan, Root became England's highest scorer when he sailed past Alastair Cook's previous record of 12,472 runs. He and Harry Brook plundered 454 runs while setting a record for England's highest Test partnership.