Sticking around

JOE WON'T GO YET

- MIKE WALTERS

JOE ROOT is planning to defer English cricket's next passing-out parade for a legend "a long way down the road."

After an emotional send-off for Jimmy Anderson (below) at Lord's, Root and Ben Stokes are next in line for a carriage clock.

At 33, and with 140 Test caps under his belt, the former England captain is already camped at the gates of greatness.

Another 150 runs this summer will take Root into the top seven all-time scorers in Test cricket, above West Indies hero Brian Lara.

And Sir Alastair Cook's England record of 12,472 runs will be within reach if the finest batsman chiselled from Yorkshire grit since Sir Geoffrey Boycott enjoys a prolific summer.