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• Duckett leads tributes to 'extremely humble' Root after making England history

  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."

• Root surpasses Cook to become England's all-time leading Test run scorer

  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.

• The Numbers Game: Carsley aims to stake claim for permanent England job

  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.