Ben Duckett hailed "extremely humble" Joe Root after watching his team-mate become England's all-time leading Test run-scorer on day three against Pakistan.

Root needed 39 entering Wednesday's play in Multan to break Alastair Cook's record, and he surpassed that target with ease, ending the day unbeaten on 176 alongside Harry Brook.

In his 147th Test outing, Root drilled Aamir Jamal's delivery in the blistering heat to overtake Cook's previous record of 12,472 as England closed to within 64 runs of Pakistan on 492-3.

Duckett partnered Root for the historic moment and led the tributes at the end of play.

"He is extremely humble," Duckett, who recovered from a broken thumb to make 84, told Test Match Special. "It doesn't feel like you're sat around greatness. 

"He's just hungry for runs every time he goes out bat for England. It's incredible to be in the same dressing room as him and long may it continue."

Root now has 12,578 runs in 146 matches, which has seen him bat in 268 innings in total, with his tally consisting of 35 centuries, 1,355 fours and 44 sixes.

The 33-year-old is up to fifth on the all-time list of run scorers across all nations, with only Rahul Dravid (13,288), Jacques Kallis (13,289), Ricky Ponting (13,378) and Sachin Tendulkar (15,921) ahead of him.

England batting coach Marcus Trescothick added to Sky Sports: "We're lucky enough to sit and watch history being made as a man goes on to be the leading run scorer in his country.

"The way he goes about it, the work he puts in and continues to strive for greatness all the time. He's been superb and think will continue to be superb for a number of years yet."

Amid all the fanfare for Root, England will enter day four looking to create some history of their own.

The tourists have never conceded as many as Pakistan's 556 and gone on to take a first-innings lead.

"The pitch is not doing a great deal at the moment and to be in a position where we can say we can get [a lead of] 150-200 is an incredible effort," Duckett added. 

"The morning session will be important and if we can limit the damage, we can kick on in the afternoon."

Joe Root led England's fight against Pakistan as he scored an incredible century to become their all-time leading run-scorer in Tests on day three.

Despite their rocky start out in the field, England are firmly back in the contest thanks to Root and Harry Brook.

Root started the day on 32, picking up alongside Zak Crawley, with England at 96-1 as they began the long chase.

It looked like it might stall as Crawley was caught by Aamir Jamal for 78, but Ben Duckett (84), who was okay to bat despite injuring his thumb yesterday, steadied the ship once again.

Root made history with a sublime drive for a four, before then bringing up his 35th Test century as he batted through the intense heat to reach 176 not out.

When Jamal pinned Duckett for lbw, Brook arrived with his own century, getting 141 as England pushed to finish the day at 492-3, now only trailing Pakistan by 64 runs.

The tourists have never conceded as many as Pakistan's 556 and gone on to take a first-innings lead, but they have put themselves in a position to do just that on day four.

Data Debrief: History maker

Going into this Test, Root needed just 71 runs to overtake Alastair Cook's all-time record of 12,472, but he more than surpassed that.

At the end of day three, he is now on 12,578 in 147 matches, batting in 268 innings in total. His highest score in that time came against Pakistan (254), while his tally of 176 not out is his highest tally in the host country.

Root now has 35 centuries and struck 1,355 fours and 44 sixes.

Novak Djokovic saw off Roman Safiullin to reach his 10th Shanghai Masters quarter-final with a straight-sets win on Wednesday.

The Serb, a four-time champion in the tournament, rallied to a 6-3 6-2 victory in just 74 minutes.

Djokovic made a lightning-quick start, serving to love to win the opening game, but had to remain patient as he waited for an opening, which he found with a three-game winning streak at the end of the first set.

Any hopes Safiullin had of a comeback were then squashed as he saw his serve broken first in the second.

Djokovic was clinical from that point, defending a break point – his third in the match – before claiming another break on his way to a comfortable victory.

As his hunt for a 100th tour-level title goes on, Jakub Mensik now stands between Djokovic and a place in the last four.

Data Debrief: Djokovic continues Shanghai dominance

At his 95th at ATP Masters 1000 events overall, Djokovic has become the first player to reach 10 quarter-finals at the Shanghai Masters, since its inauguration in 2009.

It was also his 37th win at the tournament, extending his own record as he keeps the title in his sights.

If he can get his hands on the trophy, he would be just the third man to win 100 tour-level titles in the Open Era (after Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer).

Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve says she is "overwhelmingly proud" of her team after reaching the WNBA Finals for the first time in seven years.

The Lynx capitalised on a strong start, claiming an 88-77 win over Connecticut Sun in Game 5 of the semi-finals.

It will be Minnesota's seventh WNBA Finals, a record for a team in the league. They have previously won four titles, the joint-most in the competition's history, and a win over the New York Liberty would move them outright top of the list.

Reeve, who has led the Lynx to all four of those previous titles, was full of praise for how the team saw out the win.

"I'm so proud. I can't tell you how badly our staff wanted it for them," she told reporters.

"It's a really special group. The number of people who have reached out to tell me how much they enjoy watching them play and that they're rooting for them is incredible.

"I feel overwhelmingly proud. We played Lynx basketball, and it was good to get back to it."

Napheesa Collier led the team, tallying 27 points and 11 rebounds, with Courtney Williams also contributing 24 points to help them to the win.

Reeve was impressed by both players, but in particular by the work that Collier has put in this season.

"What makes [Collier] special is her consistency and the way she shows up every single day," Reeve added.

"She's always the same, her work ethic, her demeanour, her passion for improving. She's just been incredible.

"It's more than scoring how she helps this team. When she plays like the MVP, our team is where it needs to be."

The Lynx, who finished second in the league and two games behind the Liberty during the regular season, have won three of four matchups with New York this year. That includes the WNBA Commissioner's Cup on June 25 to take the in-season tournament title.

The Finals begin with Game 1 on October 10.

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson is expected to be out for at least seven games after sustaining a hamstring injury against Crystal Palace.

The Brazilian went off in the 79th minute of Liverpool's 1-0 victory at Selhurst Park on Saturday and, according to widespread reports, is likely to be sidelined until at least the November international break.

Alisson was replaced by Premier League debutant Vitezslav Jaros against Palace as Caoimhin Kelleher missed that game through illness.

Kelleher deputised earlier in the season when Alisson was sidelined by a different hamstring injury, and is set to do so again, having recovered to join up with the Republic of Ireland national team.

Alisson also immediately pulled out of Brazil's squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers before having his scans.

"Alisson is our clear No. 1, the best goalkeeper in the world, so it's a blow when he gets injured for himself and the team," Slot said after the match on Saturday.

"We have a second option that's already good. Caoimhin has already shown that, which is why Caoimhin is the No. 2, and the last time Alisson was injured, I played Caoimhin."

The Reds have made a flying start to the season, winning nine of their 10 matches in all competitions.

However, they will likely have to navigate Premier League matches against Chelsea, Arsenal, Brighton, who they also face in the EFL Cup, and Aston Villa without their usual number one, as well as Champions League meetings with RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen.  

Leandro Trossard will be trying to bring his Arsenal form into the international break after coming back into the Belgium squad this month.

The 29-year-old has scored two goals in seven Premier League appearances for the Gunners and is enjoying a positive start to the season.

He has the joint second-best conversion rate (20%) of any Arsenal player to have featured in every league game, with his goals having come from 10 shots.

He also ranks third in the squad for expected goals (xG) generated (1.46) and has averaged 0.15 xG per shot.

When asked about how he has performed so far for his club, Trossard was pleased with how things were going.

"I feel good, yes," he said. "Is this my best form ever? I dare not say, but I think I'm performing quite consistently at Arsenal."

Trossard has played a variety of positions for the club this season, following an injury to captain Martin Odegaard. While his preferred position is on the left, he has also worked well with Kai Havertz as a second attacker.

With Jeremy Doku likely to take the left-hand side for his national team, Trossard could be used centrally to cover for the absence of the injured Kevin De Bruyne.

"That hasn't been discussed with the coach yet, but that will become clear today or tomorrow," Trossard said.

"I don't know yet what position I will play, but it's always nice to be played in your best position. At the European Championship, for example, I had to fill many roles."

Trossard's inclusion in the Belgium squad came after manager Domenico Tedesco surprisingly left him out in September.

They face Italy and France in the Nations League Group A2 over the course of the international break, while the Arsenal man explained he was relaxed about not featuring last month.

"[Tedesco] said he knew my qualities, wanted to try out new guys and give them some experience,” he said.

“The Nations League offers the opportunity for that. I agreed to that. It was a good agreement."

Coco Gauff cruised through her first-ever match at the Wuhan Open with a comfortable straight-sets win over Viktoriya Tomova.

Fresh from winning the China Open on Sunday, Gauff returned to action with a 6-1 6-2 victory in 76 minutes.

The American was given an early scare as her serve was broken in the first game, but she recovered brilliantly, storming through the next six in a row to take the first set.

She picked up where she left off in the second, winning 10 games on the bounce. Despite Tomova showing some late fight after Gauff was 4-0 up, the world number three had already done enough.

Gauff won 15 of 32 first return points (47%), and dominated on her own serve after the early blip, hitting five aces, and winning 83% of her first serve points (24/29).

She will face Magda Linette or Daria Kasatkina in the round of 16.

Data Debrief: Gauff defies age once again

Only Caroline Wozniacki in 2010 (27) has won more WTA-1000 matches in a year than Gauff in 2024 (22) before turning 21, since the format was introduced in 2009. She has equalled Iga Swiatek's record from 2022 (also 22 wins).

In fact, only Swiatek (30) and Aryna Sabalenka (24) have won more WTA-1000 matches than her in 2024, as she extended her winning streak to seven matches.

Among players to have played 10 or more matches in China in the 21st century, Gauff has the highest winning percentage in events played in the country (91.7%, 11-1).

Carlos Alcaraz battled past Gael Monfils, becoming the first Spaniard to reach the Shanghai Masters quarter-final since 2017 as he kept his winning streak alive.

Having lost to the Frenchman in Cincinnati earlier this year, Alcaraz won 6-4 7-5 on Wednesday, which was his 12th victory on the bounce.

Monfils was bidding to become the second-oldest ATP Masters 1000 quarter-finalist in history at 38 years old and matched Alcaraz through the early stages, almost forcing a break.

But he could not hold onto a lead in the ninth game of the first set, and the 21-year-old took advantage.

Alcaraz did not have it all his own way in the second set despite an assured performance, which saw him serve three games to love overall.

Monfils could only defend two of three break points in the penultimate game as Alcaraz pressed home his advantage. He will meet Tomas Machac on Thursday.

"The main thing I tried in this match was to stay calm, to control my emotions and wait for my chances," said Alcaraz.

"That helped me a lot to show my best tennis during the match. I am feeling the ball really well, much more than I was during the American swing. So, I am happy to be able to do it and keep going."

Data Debrief: No stopping Alcaraz

Alcaraz has improved his record to 51-9 for the season with this win over Monfils and is into his 14th ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final.

Since the format's inception in 1990, Alcaraz (76.5%, 62-19) only trails three players for win percentage at ATP Masters 1000 events: Novak Djokovic (82.02%), Rafael Nadal (82.00%) and Roger Federer (77.9%).

Aryna Sabalenka maintained her perfect record at the Wuhan Open and clinched her 50th tour-level win of the year as she beat Katerina Siniakova in straight sets on Wednesday.

The Belarusian returned to winning ways after her shock exit at the China Open, with the score 6-4 6-4 after 94 minutes to reach the third round.

Sabalenka weathered an early storm as Siniakova pushed her at the start before the pair traded breaks just when it looked like she had gained an edge.

However, the world number two broke her serve again in the final game to take the set, and it was a similar story in the second.

The Czech valiantly defended her serve as the pair traded blows, but Sabalenka showed her edge by winning the final two games to set up a meeting with Yulia Putintseva in the next round.

"I missed Wuhan a lot," Sabalenka said. "I just have really good memories of winning, two times, the title here. Just Wuhan brings me a lot of great memories, good vibes.

"Siniakova, who is fighting for every point, it's really good that I was able to finish this match in two sets."

Data Debrief: Posting big numbers

The Wuhan Open has been out of the calendar for the last five years, but Sabalenka has settled back in quickly.

She has won all 13 of her matches played at the tournament (winning the title in both 2018 and 2019) and is the first player to win their first 13 matches in a single city hosting a WTA event since Maria Sharapova in Stuttgart (13-0 between 2012 and 2014).

The victory over Siniakova is her 50th of the WTA Tour in 2024, a number she will be pleased to reach after having her 15-match winning streak snapped in Beijing last week. 

Jannik Sinner avenged last year's Shanghai Masters exit to Ben Shelton, beating him in straight sets to progress to the quarter-final on Wednesday.

The American was hoping for another upset to mark his 22nd birthday, but Sinner triumphed 6-4 7-6 (7-1) in 88 minutes.

Shelton started strongly, showing off a 95% first serve accuracy in the first set, as he matched the Italian in the opening games but could not force a vital break before Sinner's three-game winning run took the set away from him.

Sinner then had to dig deep as Shelton went on the attack once more, but he successfully defended all seven break points, five of which came in the second set.

He ramped up the pressure in the tie-break, cruising through to reach his 14th ATP Tour quarter-final of 2024.

"It was very tough. He played only first serves, except one second serve," Sinner said.

"But if I look at the positive picture, how I ended the match, I tried to stay a bit more aggressive, which I've done, and this hopefully can give me confidence for the next round."

He will face Daniil Medvedev in the final eight after the Russian saw off Stefanos Tsitsipas with a commanding performance.

Medvedev triumphed 7-6 (7-3) 6-3, hitting 28 winners and making just 20 unforced errors to the Greek's 34 as he came from 2-0 down in the second set, winning six of the last seven games to progress.

Data Debrief: Staying perfect

Sinner has made a 14th quarter-final from 14 ATP events in 2024, becoming only the fourth player aged 23 or under to do so in a single season after Jimmy Connors (1974), Guillermo Vilas (1976) and John McEnroe (1982).

Stefanos Tsitsipas (10) is now the second opponent Daniil Medvedev has defeated 10+ times head-to-head at ATP level, along with Alexander Zverev (12), while he will be searching for an eighth win against Sinner in the next round, having also beaten him at Wimbledon earlier this year. 

Joe Root has become England's record run scorer in Tests, overtaking Alastair Cook.

Root broke Cook's record of 12,472 runs when he moved onto 71 against Pakistan with a sublime drive for four.

That moved Root onto 12,473 runs, making him England's outright leading scorer in Test cricket.

The former Test captain, who made his debut in December 2012, has played 147 matches in the longest format, batting in 268 innings in total. He has been not out on 22 occasions.

His high score is 254, which came against Pakistan.

By the time he hit his record-breaking boundary, Root had plundered 34 centuries, 65 half-centuries and struck 1,349 fours and 44 sixes. He has been dismissed for a duck 12 times.

He has scored more runs against India (2,846) than against any other team, with Australia (2,428) his next favourite opponent. Root's high score in 55 innings against India is 218.

In comparison, Cook ended his illustrious career with a Test average of 45.35 and a high score of 294, which came against India, who he scored 4,431 runs against in total.

However, Australia were Cook's favourite team to bat against when it came to run scoring – he tallied up 2,493 against them, albeit his highest average came against West Indies (57.96 – 1,739 runs scored total in 35 innings).

Cook, who hit just 11 sixes but struck 1,442 fours, batted for 291 innings across 161 matches, and has gone unbeaten on 16 occasions. His strike rate was 46.95, while he hit 33 centuries and 57 half-centuries. He was only dismissed for a duck nine times.

England have made a bright start to life without Gareth Southgate, putting in impressive displays to win both of their Nations League openers against Republic of Ireland and Finland in September.

With a permanent replacement still yet to be announced for the national team, Lee Carsley will again be in the dugout this week aiming to maintain his 100% record.

With the aim to gain promotion back to League A, Carsley is set to come up against his toughest test yet given that England are not in the driving seat in their current group.

Greece sit above them in the table, with a superior goal difference and are on a three-match winning streak in all competitions.

But having disappointed in their previous Nations League campaign, England will be determined to put things right and avoid a slip-up in front of the home fans.

Using Opta data, we delve into the key talking points ahead of Thursday's clash at Wembley.

What's expected?

The Three Lions put on an attacking show against Ireland and Finland, having a collective total of 38 shots and accumulating 4.3 expected goals (xG) across both matches.

So it is perhaps no surprise that England are favourites going into this one, with the Opta supercomputer giving them a 75.1% chance of victory.

Greece, on the other hand, are only given a 10.2% chance of causing an upset, while the likelihood of getting a draw sits at 14.6%.

History is certainly on England's side as they have never lost any of their nine meetings with Greece in all competitions (W7 D2), keeping a clean sheet in seven of those matches.

Greece have, however, drawn their last two competitive away matches against England, most recently 2-2 in a World Cup qualifier in October 2001. They led that match twice before David Beckham's famous 90th-minute free-kick sent the Three Lions to the 2002 World Cup.

Staking his claim

Carsley isn't keen to answer questions about his long-term future with England, but he is certainly doing his chances of getting the full-time job no harm.

In fact, he is aiming to be the first England manager to win his first three competitive matches in charge since Fabio Capello in October 2008. If the team can keep another clean sheet, he will be the first ever to do so without conceding.

The interim manager also has some familiar faces available again after illness and injury prevented Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Jude Bellingham from linking up with the squad last time around.

Palmer has started the Premier League season in scintillating form, with six goals to his name already.

Since his Chelsea debut last September, he has been involved in more goals in the competition than any other player (44 – 28 goals, 16 assists), and he is surely pushing for just his third England start.

Carsley could go with Bellingham for this game though, which would move him outright second for the most England appearances before turning 22 (currently 36, level with Marcus Rashford), after Wayne Rooney (40).

While England's attack is often the main focus, Carsley's defensive record is nothing to be dismissed. At the 2023 U21 Euros, his side did not concede a single goal, and he has carried that record into the senior team, albeit only facing eight shots across the first two matches.

Kyle Walker provides a welcome boost at the back as he returns to the squad and, if he is given the nod at right-back in this game, he will have made the joint-fifth most appearances for England at Wembley (currently 37).

He would have to unseat Trent Alexander-Arnold for that to happen, with the Liverpool right-back having created five chances against Finland. That is the third time he has created five or more chances in an England game since the start of 2019, with no other player doing so on more than one occasion.

Top of the pile 

England may have won 16 of their last 21 competitive outings on home soil (D2 L3), including each of the last five, but Greece will certainly be no pushovers.

After three seasons in League C, they managed to gain promotion and have taken to their new league with consecutive wins to top the table.

Since the inaugural Nations League in 2018-19, no team has won more games in the competition than Greece (W13 D3 L4).

They also boast the best defensive record in the tournament's history, conceding the fewest goals (eight) and keeping the most clean sheets (14).

Greece are, however, winless in their last 12 matches against nations in the top five of the FIFA rankings (D6 L6) - a run that stretches back to a 1-0 win over France en route to their Euro 2004 title.

Having drawn 2-2 against France in November 2023 - their most recent fixture against any team currently in the top five - there is a small body of evidence of their ability to compete against the best.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

England – Harry Kane

England captain Harry Kane has scored 26 goals in 26 competitive home appearances for the Three Lions, scoring in each of his last six such outings (nine goals).

Only Steve Bloomer (1895-1899) and Wayne Rooney (2012-2015) have ever scored in seven straight competitive home games for the nation. Having scored twice against Finland last time out in the Nations League, he will be keen to keep his run going.

Greece – Fotis Ioannidis

Only Slovenia's Benjamin Sesko (four) scored more goals than Fotis Ioannidis (three) across the opening two matchdays of the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League.

He has also scored five goals in his last six international appearances. But Ioannidis is a major doubt for this fixture, having hobbled off just before half-time for Panathinaikos against Olympiacos on Sunday.