Joe Root is the greatest batter England have ever had in the 50-over format. It might seem an obvious thing to say considering Joe Root has scored more ODI runs for England than anyone else. But since Root returned to the format full-time in 2025 he has reminded everyone in the world of his class in the number 3 position for England. This blog will set out why Root is the greatest batter to take to the crease for England in ODI cricket, as well as examining the strange fallow years he had from 2020-2024 that may have contributed to his legacy in the format being forgotten.

 

The Peak

Root has more runs and more hundreds (currently standing at 19 as of 26^th Jan 2026) than any other England player in the format. Like in Test cricket, it is his consistency for over a decade that sets him apart from his English peers. Root averaged over 50 in four consecutive years from 2016 up until England’s world cup triumph in 2019. These were his peak years in ODI cricket, and it is no surprise that they coincided with the greatest white ball side England have ever produced. He was player-of-the-series in both England’s 4-1 victory against Australia away from home in 2018; as well as the 2-1 series win at home versus India in the same year. In England’s victorious world cup campaign, he was the side’s leading run-scorer. His 556 runs included two centuries and a match-winning knock in the run-chase against the Aussies in the semi-final. Root’s role at number 3 allowed him to play his natural game of strike rotation, and his accumulation of runs in the middle overs complimented the ultra-aggression his teammates delivered at the beginning and end of the innings.

 

The Fallow Period

For a variety of reasons England’s world cup victors were not able to achieve sustained dominance in the format post-2019, and a large part of this was down to Root’s absence from the side on many occasions. This was largely down to Covid-19 restrictions, were his priorities as Test captain meant he played far fewer games of 50-over cricket. From 2020-2023 Root only played 28 ODIs and scored 0 hundreds. For comparison, in 2018 alone he played 24 ODIs and scored 3 centuries. Root’s lack of form in this period can be attributed to lack of game time. as well as the pressures he was experiencing as captain during a difficult period for the Test side in 2021 and 2022. In 2024, Root did not feature at all for England in 50-over cricket and many believed his ODI career to be finished. How wrong they were…

 

The Comeback

Root returned to the 50-over team in 2025 and has never looked back. The calendar year of 2025 saw him produce 808 runs with 3 hundreds and an average of 57. What is most impressive is his strike-rate of 95, the highest he has ever achieved in a single year in the 50-over format. His 166 not out in a successful run-chase against the West Indies was his highest ever score in ODI cricket, a was a brilliant illustration of Root’s ability to move through the gears during a run-chase. He began 2026 in great form, his batting against Sri Lanka a perfect example to the rest of England’s struggling batters of how to score runs on slow and turning pitches at a decent rate. He shows no signs of slowing down yet.

 

 

The Other Contenders

For me, there are four other contenders who could be considered England’s greatest ODI batter. They are Eoin Morgan, Kevin Pietersen, Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow. All four were much more aggressive than Root, and three were world cup winners alongside Root. Morgan was a great captain and innovative player, but he could never quite match Root’s consistency of runs. Pietersen had a brilliant first year in ODI cricket against South Africa and Australia but tailed off in his later years and his career for England in the 50-over format felt unfulfilled. Buttler is the master finisher and has produced some of England’s greatest match-winning hundreds, but he has tailed off recently, with his reign as captain seemingly affecting his performances. Bairstow was brilliant for England as an opener from 2017-2019, and his hundreds at the back end of the world cup saved England from humiliation, but he had a big drop-off post-2021 and hasn’t been seen since England disastrous 2023 world cup campaign.

 

 

Conclusion

Given the decreasing number of ODIs played outside tournaments, it is doubtful that Root will ever be overtaken in the run-scoring charts by another Englishman. From 2015-2019, he was arguably the best ODI batter in the world not named Virat Kohli, and his form since 2025 has been England’s one bright spark in a malfunctioning 50-over team.