Joe Root

Joe Root is a product of Sheffield Collegiate, the same nursery that produced Michael Vaughan, while his patience and stubbornness at the crease had Geoffrey Boycott gushing that he reminded him of himself. The 2011 season proved to be a breakthrough season for Root as he made 1,013 runs at 36.17. His form earned him a call up to the England senior squad for their tour of India. He did not disappoint, marking his Test debut in Nagpur with 73 runs from 229 balls. Joe has become an increasingly prominent member of the England squad in all three formats of the game and in 2013 he continued his rapid international progress with a superb 71 as England defeated New Zealand by 140 runs in the first Test at Lord’s. In the second Test, Joe hit a marvellous 104 to become the first Yorkshireman to score his maiden Test century at Headingley. He was subsequently named as player of the series as the home side clinched a 246-run second Test victory to win the series 2-0. Joe was promoted to opening batsman and played a prominent role as England secured their third successive Ashes victory in 2013. The highlight of his series came in the second Test, when he was named man of the match after scoring a sensational 180 at Lord’s, becoming the youngest ever Englishman to do so at the home of cricket. After returning from injury he quickly scored two more Test centuries, one at Lord’s against Sri Lanka where he finished with a career-best 200*. Joe scored an unbeaten 154 against India at Trent Bridge that helped England recover from 298-9 to post 496 as he and James Anderson shared a world record 10th wicket stand of 198 before scoring 149 not out in the fifth Test as his team secured a 3-1 series victory. There was yet another ton in the second Test against West Indies in April 2015, with an unbeaten 182 from 229 balls as England secured a nine-wicket win. The following month, Joe was named England Men’s Player of the Year and celebrated with scores of 98 and 84 in England’s first Test victory over New Zealand. Joe’s performances in The 2015 Ashes Series led to him reaching the top of the ICC World batting rankings.