Last year Joe Root became the fastest English batter to breach the 9000 run barrier in Test cricket. On Thursday, the ex-England skipper struck an unbeaten 77 in the second innings of the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s and is now on the verge of setting up a new world record in the longest format of the game.

The Sheffield-born batter is only 23 away from completing 10,000 runs in the whites, making him the joint quickest to the milestone. The record is currently held by his former captain Alastair Cook who got there at the age of 31 years and 157 days.

The chances of Joe Root accomplishing the milestone on Day 4 of the Lord’s Test are extremely high as he was the man who rescued England on the previous day.

Chasing 277, England had their backs to the wall at 69/4, having lost both openers, No.3 Ollie Pope and Jonny Bairstow early in the final innings of the Test match.

With the tails of the New Zealand fast bowlers up, England were looking down the barrel at that stage, but Joe Root had other thoughts in mind.

First Joe Root stitched together a 90-run stand with captain Ben Stokes before seeing out the final session of the day along with wicketkeeper Ben Foakes who remained not out on 9 to put England in control of the game.

And Joe Root’s heroics didn’t go unnoticed on Twitter with several fans lauding him for his gutsy innings at the home of cricket.

“Joe Root about to become the first ever 90s born cricketer to score 10,000 Test runs,” a supporter wrote on the micro-blogging platform.

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“Just 23 away from that 10K milestone & he deserves it – wonderful player & scoring his runs under tremendous pressure most of the time. And he’s only 31 years old too, he’s got every chance of getting close to Sachin’s record,” another said referring to India great Sachin Tendulkar‘s record of more than 15,000 runs in Tests.

“When Ben Stokes was dismissed Joe Root at 34* but at the end of the day he is at 77*. Extraordinary batting performance from the former captain,” a third added.

Meanwhile, veteran fast bowler Stuart Broad, who dismissed three Kiwi batters in their second essay, was optimistic about the home team’s chances of victory on Sunday.

“It’s had a bit of everything. It’s up to us as a group of players to do everything we can to get over the line, and it would be very special, but if it doesn’t work that way we step up to the plate in Nottingham,” said Stuart Broad after the day’s play. “But I’ve got a really good feeling about tomorrow. Joe Root is one of the calmest, England’s best-ever batsmen, and Foakesy I thought settled really nicely, and then it’s going to be up to the lower order to chase these runs, so it’s set up to be a brilliant morning,” Broad said in a press conference after the completion of play on Day 3 in London.

“It’s been a really enjoyable Test match, (it’s) really exciting and hard to know what is going to happen from hour to hour,” said Broad. “It’s great to be coming [back] knowing either team could win. In Test cricket you’re constantly saying ‘it’s a big hour’, and I feel like we’ve said that every single hour here. The hour with Rooty and Foakesy before the new ball is going to be crucial to try and get the runs down as low as we can,” he added.

“There’s been times we’ve had to soak up pressure, but we’ve got to have a really positive mindset leading up to the new ball. The way Rooty and Stokesy played after a bit of luck with the no-ball showed the way this team want to go about it,” Broad who has more than 500 Test wickets to his name stressed.

While Joe Root is being hailed for his superb knock, his teammate Jonny Bairstow was slammed right, left, and centre for throwing his wicket to Kyle Jamieson on Friday.

Michael Vaughan, the former England captain even called him “dumb” for his shot selection against the tall Kiwi fast bowler.

“I am sorry but that is dumb. That is pathetic. You know it is going to be Jamieson’s last ball of a terrific spell,” Michael Vaughan said while commentating for the BBC.

“There was a bit of nip. It is an OK delivery. But when you are throwing your hands at a ball with a gap between bat and pad that you and I could swim through,” he explained.

“You can have all the preparation and team meetings but until you play smart… See him off. Get rid of him. Play a defensive shot. It is just dumb,” Vaughan concluded.