Joe Root

Early life and career

Root is the eldest son of Helen and Matt Root and grew up in Dore, Sheffield. His younger brother Billy plays cricket for Glamorgan. Root attended Dore Primary and King Ecgbert School in Sheffield, and at 15, on a cricket sports scholarship, Worksop College as a weekly boarder.

Root followed in his father’s footsteps by joining Sheffield Collegiate CC, in Abbeydale Park. Former Yorkshire batsman and England captain Michael Vaughan also plied his trade at Collegiate and was a source of inspiration for Root, who became a protégé of his. Root won Player of the Tournament in the prestigious Bunbury Festival. Root is a supporter of Sheffield United F.C.

Domestic career

Root made his Yorkshire second team debut on 18 July 2007 against Derbyshire at Abbeydale Park. He scored 57, putting on a 133 first-wicket stand with Adam Lyth. He continued to represent the academy team and was named player of the tournament as Yorkshire’s Academy won the ProARCH Trophy in Abu Dhabi. After success at second team level, Root was given an opportunity in the first team in Yorkshire’s final Pro40 match of the season at Headingley against Essex. Root scored 63 and was top-scorer in Yorkshire’s 187–7. Although his half-century could not inspire Yorkshire to victory, Root described his debut as a "dream come true".

After another man of the series performance, this time on England Under-19 duty in Bangladesh, Root signed a three-year professional contract with Yorkshire. Root was selected for the Under-19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand, making an unbeaten 70 in a victory against Hong Kong as England progressed to the quarter-finals before being eliminated by the West Indies. Later that winter, he was sent to the Darren Lehmann Cricket Academy in Adelaide, South Australia, to fine tune his game.

In 2011, Root’s County Championship debut against Worcestershire at New Road in April was one of 15 matches he played that year on top of his England Lions cricket team debut against Sri Lanka A. At Scarborough in August, he scored his maiden Championship hundred against Sussex. Root captained Yorkshire in the match that they won the 2014 County Championship title and helped them retain it the following year.

In April 2022, Root was retained by the Trent Rockets for the 2022 season of The Hundred. and on 23 December 2022 he was bought by Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2023 auction.

Early international career

2012–13: England debut

In the fourth Test against India, Root became the 655th player to represent England at Test level, receiving his cap from former England all-rounder Paul Collingwood. Coming in as the number six batsman rather than his usual position as an opener, he scored 73 from 229 balls, top-scoring jointly with Kevin Pietersen. In the second innings he made 20 not out to help England bat out the match and secure a first Test series win on Indian soil since 1984-85.

Root made his T20 debut in the second of a two-match series that followed, although he was not required to bat. He was also included in the ODI squad after Jonny Bairstow withdrew. Root was not required to bat on his ODI debut either, but did bowl nine overs, collecting figures of 0-51, as England won by nine runs. He made scores of 36 and 39 in the next two matches, before making his maiden ODI fifty in the fourth match of the series, although England lost by five wickets. Root finished the series with 163 runs.

Following the successful tour of India, Root was retained in the Test squad for the tour of New Zealand and was added to the previously announced ODI and T20 squads. After being an unused batsman in the third T20, he started the ODI series with two half-centuries, contributing 56 in the first game before top-scoring with 79 off 56 balls in the second. In doing so, Root became the first batsman to start his ODI career with six consecutive scores of over 30 and finished the series with 163 runs.

In the Test series, Root continued to bat in the middle-order and in the third Test he made 45 off 176 balls before being bowled by Tim Southee. The series ended 0-0 and Root finished the series with 88 runs.

2013–14: New Zealand, Champions Trophy and back-to-back Ashes series

New Zealand travelled to England in the summer of 2013 and Root’s first involvement was to captain the England Lions against the Black Caps in a four-day warm-up match, where he scored 179 runs. After scoring 40 and 71 runs in the first Test at Lord’s, Root scored his maiden Test century at his home ground of Headingley, hitting 104 runs off 167 balls and became the first Yorkshire player to score their first Test century at Headingley. He finished the series as England’s top scorer with 243 runs and helped his team to a 2–0 series victory. In the ODI series that followed, Root made scores of 30, 28 and 33 as England lost the series 2–1.

Root was named in the England squad for the Champions Trophy. He featured against Sri Lanka and hit 68 runs off 55 balls in a seven-wicket loss. Root helped England to a 10-run win over New Zealand by making 38 runs off 40 balls, which secured them a place in the semi-finals. In the last four against South Africa, Root scored 48 off 71 balls as England eased to a seven-wicket win and advanced to the final. Following England’s loss to India, he was named as 12th man in the Team of the Tournament by the ICC.

Root was asked to opening the batting with captain Alastair Cook for the Ashes after the selectors decided to drop Nick Compton from the England team. In the first Test he made scores of 30 and 5, and took his first Test wicket when he had Ed Cowan caught in the second innings. In the second innings of the second Test, Root made 180 before England declared to set Australia a target of 583. In the final innings Root took the wickets of Usman Khawaja and Australia captain Michael Clarke in consecutive overs with both batters well set on 50-plus scorers. This saw Root named Man of the Match for his performance with bat and ball. England retained the Ashes after a drawn third Test and victory in the fourth saw the series won, though Root did not contribute significantly to either result. He top-scored for England in the final Test to finish the series with 339 runs.

Root was selected to bat at number four for the first T20I, with Australia setting England 249 to win. Root came in with England 37-3 and scored a career-best 90 not out from 49 balls, but this was not enough to prevent a 39-run defeat. Root also played in the second game, which England won, to split the series. England lost the ODI series 2–1, with Root finishing the series with 36 runs from four matches.

2014: West Indies, Sri Lanka & India

Root was picked in the squad for the 2014 tour of West Indies. He was selected for the first ODI, he took the wicket of Kieran Powell before making 37 runs off 48 balls in England's failed attempt to chase the score. In the second ODI Root took 2 wickets before hitting 23 runs off 43 balls in the successful run chase. Root batted at number 4 in the third ODI where he made his maiden ODI century hitting 107 runs off 122 balls and also taking 1 wicket in England's 25 run win. For this performance, Root was named Man of the Match and also received the Player of the Series award after contributing 167 runs (the highest run scorer of both teams) and 4 wickets. Due to sustaining a broken thumb in the final ODI, Root was ruled out of the 2014 ICC World Twenty20.

During the first ODI against Sri Lanka as part of the Sri Lankan tour in 2014, Root made 45 runs and also took 1 catch in the 81 runs win. During the fourth ODI he made 43 off 68 balls in England's loss. England lost the series 3–2 and Root finished up with 98 runs.

Following the ODI series, in the first Test Match at Lords, Root scored an unbeaten 200 off 298 balls with 16 fours and guided England to their highest Test score against Sri Lanka of 575-9d. He is the fourth youngest English batsman to score a double century. The series finished 1–0 to Sri Lanka and Root top scored for England with 259 runs.

Root scored his 4th Test century for England in the first Test Match against India at Trent Bridge. His unbeaten 154 helped England recover from 298–9 to post 496 as he and James Anderson shared a world record 10th wicket stand of 198. Although England went into the second innings with a lead, they were unable to force a result. In the second Test of the series, Root made 66 in England's second innings but was unable to prevent a defeat. In the third match of the series, Root made a quick fire 66 in England's second innings to help them force a result and level the series at 1–1. He hit yet another half century in the fourth Test, as England won by an innings to take a 2–1 series lead. In the final Test at the Oval, Root scored his 5th Test century scoring an unbeaten 149 to help England post a first innings score of 486 all out in reply to India's 148 all out. Root won the Man of the Match award for his performance in that Test. This resulted in England winning the match by an innings and secured a 3–1 series win. He finished the Test series with 518 runs and 1 wicket. For his performances in 2014, he was named in the World Test XI by the ICC.

2015

In the 2015 Cricket World Cup, Root scored five against Australia. 46 (out of England's total of 123) versus New Zealand, a single against Scotland. He made 121 against Sri Lanka and in doing so became the youngest English player to score a century at a World Cup. However, England again suffered a heavy defeat, this time by nine wickets.

Root was selected in the England squad for the 2015 West Indies tour.

In the first Test Root continued his good run of form as he hit 83 in England's 399 first innings total. During the second innings Root scored his sixth consecutive half-century score in Tests by posting 59 before being bowled. He also bowled 13 overs and took the wickets of Darren Bravo and key man Shivnarine Chanderpaul in the last innings as the match was drawn. In the second Test Root scored his 6th Test century (also his first overseas) when he smashed 182* in 229 balls to help England reach a total of 464. This also took him past 2,000 Test runs. England wrapped the match up to win the Test and take a 1–0 lead in the series. For his performance Root was awarded the Man of the Match. He finished the series with 358 runs and 3 wickets.

In the first Test against New Zealand in 2015, Root continued his impressive form for England. He scored 98 in the first innings to help England recover from a precarious position to post 389. He again contributed in the second innings, scoring 84 to help put England in a strong position. He picked up a wicket in New Zealand's second innings as England won the match by 124 runs. In the second Test, Root was dismissed for one in the first innings and was then dismissed for a duck in the second as England lost the game, meaning the series was drawn at 1–1. He finished the Test series with 183 runs and 1 wicket.

Root was selected in a revamped ODI squad for the five-match series. In the first ODI, Root batted at 3 and scored his 5th ODI century hitting 104 off 78 balls to help England to a record 408/9 and a 210 run win. He performed more strongly in the third ODI, scoring 54, but England lost again, this time by 3 wickets. In the fourth ODI, he made his sixth ODI century by scoring 106* off 97 to help England chase a target of 350 to win the match and level the series. During this innings he passed 2,000 ODI career runs. In the fifth ODI he scored 4 in England's successful chase giving England a 3–2 series win. Root finished the series with 274 runs. In the only T20 match between the two teams he scored 68 as England went on to win by 56 runs.

2016

Root was selected in the England squad for the 2016 ICC World Twenty20. He featured in the first match against the West Indies and scored 48 from 36 balls in a losing effort. In the second match against South Africa he scored 83 off 44 balls in England's record breaking chase of 230. Root was named man of the match for this effort. In England's narrow victory against Afghanistan, Root made 12 runs before being run out. In the final group match against Sri Lanka he managed to make 25 and take a crucial catch in England's 10 run win, ensuring their place in the semi-final. England faced New Zealand in the semi-final and were set to chase 154, Root scored 27* from 22 balls to secure a place in the final. In the final against the West Indies, Root scored 54 from 37 balls in England's 155–9 and took the key wickets of Chris Gayle and Johnson Charles. However this was not enough to secure a win. Root finished the tournament as the 3rd highest scorer with 249 runs. Joe Root became only the third player after Shahid Afridi and Marlon Samuels to score a fifty and to take at least a wicket in an ICC World T20 final.

In the second Test of the series against Pakistan, Root scored 254, the highest total of his Test career and the second-highest of any English player (third-highest overall) at Old Trafford. Root went on to receive the man of the match award for his performance as England levelled the series at 1–1. The third Test at Edgbaston was not as memorable, making just 3 in the first innings but then playing a resilient 62 in the second to help England to a total of 445/6 and eventually, a 141 run victory. The final Test was lost by 10 wickets and the series ended in a 2–2 draw. In the ODI series, Root made 61 in the first match as England recorded an opening victory. England won the second match, with Root scoring 89. In the third match, Root scored 85 as England broke the record for the highest ever ODI score, finishing on 444/3.

2016–2017: India

Root made 124 in England's first innings of the first Test against India as England made 537, though the match ended in a draw. For his performances in 2016, he was named in the World Test XI by the ICC.

Root made scores of 90 not-out and 101 in the second and third ODIs of the away series against West Indies in March 2017, with England winning the series 3–0.Twin tons round off

Root was named as part of the 'Team of the Tournament' at the 2017 Champions Trophy by the ICC, after he finished as the fourth highest run-scorer with England making the semi-final.

Test captaincy

Root replaced Alastair Cook as the full-time Test captain on 13 February 2017 following the latter's resignation, making him England's 80th captain. In his first match as the captain, on 6 July 2017, against South Africa at Lord's, Root scored his 12th Test century with an innings of 190. He was the sixth (and highest scoring) England player to score a Test century on captaincy debut. He also had an influence on county teammate Gary Ballance's recall to the England squad. England won the match to set up a 3–1 series victory. A Test-series victory over West Indies followed, in the second Test of which Root equalled AB de Villiers' record of scoring a half-century in 12 consecutive Test matches.

Ashes series: 2017–18

Root captained the English team in 2017–18 Ashes series in an unsuccessful defence of the Ashes, losing four of the five Tests. In Brisbane England batted first and scored 302 and 195, with Root's scores being 15 and 51. In the second Test at Adelaide Root's scored 9 and 67 out of totals of 227 and 233. In Perth, England scored 403 and 218, Root's scores 20 and 14, while Australia made 662/9 declared, winning the match and the series before tea on the final day. In the final match, he retired at 59 in the second innings after succumbing to gastroenteritis. He failed to convert any of his five half-centuries into centuries in the series. His next century did not come until 10 September 2018 against India at The Oval in the second innings, where Alastair Cook also scored a century on his final Test match.

2018: Pakistan & India

England drew 1–1 at home to Pakistan in a two-match series.

England bounced back and beat India 4–1. Root failed to make a score in the first four Tests, but scored 125 in the last Test. This was his first century of 2018 after going without a century in the previous three Test series (Australia, New Zealand and Pakistan). This was also Root's last game with former captain Alistair Cook. Root impressed in the preceding ODI series against India, scoring 217 runs, which included two back-to-back centuries.

Sri Lanka: 2018

Root became the first English captain to win a Test series in Sri Lanka since 2001, ending a run of 3 series in Sri Lanka without a win. He scored 124 in the 2nd Test to secure a series win; his first ever Test series away win as captain. This was also the first away Test series win England had won since 2016.

2019: Cricket World Cup

In April 2019, he was named in England's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. He had a good start to the tournament, scoring two centuries (against Pakistan and West Indies) and three fifties in England's first six matches. On 21 June 2019, in the match against Sri Lanka, Root played in his 250th international match for England.

He was named in the 'Team of the Tournament' for the 2019 World Cup by the ICC. They stated that "England's run machine over the years, Joe Root was the glue that held their famed batting together through the tournament. The Yorkshire batter finished as the fifth highest run-scorer of the tournament, with 556 runs from 11 innings. Root's flawless technique and ability to keep the scoreboard moving by rotating the strike and finding the boundaries when required makes him a perfect No. 3 in this line-up".

Ashes series: 2019

Root captained England in the 2019 Ashes Series, as England and Australia drew 2–2 with Australia retaining the Ashes. Root's batting position was widely discussed in the build-up to the series, with Root eventually moving up the order to bat at three. Root made a half century in the first Test as Australia won by 251 runs, while the second Test at Lord's was drawn, with Root making 14 and 0. Steve Smith, who made twin hundreds in the first Test and was a thorn in England's team throughout the previous Ashes series, missed the third Test with a concussion. England capitalised by levelling the series courtesy of an incredible one wicket win at Headingley, with Ben Stokes making 135* in a record fourth innings chase for England, Joe Root scoring 0 and 77.

Australia retained the Ashes with a 185 run victory at Old Trafford in the fourth Test, helped by a first innings double hundred from the returning Steve Smith, as Root made scores of 71 and 0. England restored some pride at the Oval with a 135 run victory to conclude the series, which was drawn 2–2. Root again made a half-century but failed to score a century in the series, leading to further criticism of Root's conversion rate. Root averaged just 32.50 throughout the series.

2019–20: New Zealand & South Africa

In December 2019, in the second Test match against New Zealand, Root scored his first double century as captain of England, and became the first visiting captain to score a double century in New Zealand in Test cricket.

Root captained England to a 3–1 series victory in South Africa, which he described as his 'proudest result' as captain. England got off to a slow start, losing the first Test at Centurion, but came back to win the series comfortably. In the third Test he took career best bowling figures of 4–87 as England won on a turning Gqeberha pitch. Root had a consistent series with the bat, making three half-centuries, but was criticised once more for not converting his fifties into hundreds.

2020: West Indies & Pakistan

In order to be present for the birth of his second child, Root missed the first Test of the three match series against West Indies. England lost the match; Root returned to captain the team to a 2–1 series victory, with his most significant innings being a score of 68 not out to set up a declaration in the final Test.

Root captained England to a second series win of the summer with a 1–0 win in the three Test series against Pakistan: England won the first Test followed by two rain-affected draws.

In November 2020, Root was nominated for the Sir Garfield Sobers Award for ICC Male Cricketer of the Decade and the award for Test cricketer of the decade.

2021: Sri Lanka & India

Root led England for the two match Test series against Sri Lanka, which was previously postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first Test, Root scored 228, his 18th Test century and his first for 13 months. For his efforts (which led to England winning by 7 wickets), he was named Man of the Match. Root's run of form continued into the second, where, by scoring 186, he became the first Englishman since David Gower to pass 150 in consecutive Tests. During the innings he also overtook Geoffrey Boycott, Kevin Pietersen and Gower to become the fourth-highest Test run-scorer for England. On 29 June 2021, in the opening fixture against Sri Lanka, Root played in his 150th ODI match. In the same match, Root also scored his 6,000th run in ODI cricket, making him the fourth fastest player (in terms of innings) to reach 6000 runs.

Later in the summer, Root continued his good form in Tests, with centuries in each of the first three games in the series against India seeing him return to the top of the ICC Test batting rankings. As a team England fared less well, trailing the series 2–1 when the final Test was postponed due to COVID-19.

2021–22: Australia and West Indies

Root's good form did not continue into the 2021–22 Ashes series; though he was the leading run-scorer for England, he only managed three fifties and a top score of 89, as England lost the series 4–0. The result saw the sacking of Chris Silverwood as head-coach of the England team, and calls for Root to step down as captain. However, he was retained for the away series against West Indies, scoring a second-innings century in the drawn First Test, taking his tally of 100s to 24, and clear second place on the list of England Test centurions.

On 4 January 2022, at the fourth Ashes Test in Sydney, he captained England for the 60th time taking the record for the most Test matches as England captain. On 15 April 2022, having captained England 64 times, Root resigned as Test captain stating: "It has been the most challenging decision I have had to make in my career but having discussed this with my family and those closest to me; I know the timing is right".

Post-captaincy

2022–present

In the second innings of the first Test match of the 2022 series against New Zealand, he scored 115*, which helped England chase 277 runs and was awarded the Man of the Match. In the second Test match of the series, he scored 176 runs in the first innings. In the third Test match, he scored 86* in England's second innings to help England chase 296 runs. He scored 396 runs in six innings, at an average of 99 and was awarded the Player of the Series.

During the rescheduled fifth Test against India, Root scored the winning runs with his unbeaten 142. He finished the series with over 700 runs in five Tests.

In the following 2022 series against South Africa, Root had a rare quiet series with the bat, only scoring 50 runs across four innings with a top score of 23.

Root was named in the England squad for the 2023 Ashes Series in England. He subsequently hit his 30th test century with his 118 not out in the first innings at Edgbaston. England went on to lose the first and second tests in the series, with Root failing to make a score of note in the second test at Lord's. After England came out on top in the third test at Headingley, Root scored 84 and 91 in the 4th and 5th tests respectively helping England to draw the series.

On the third day of the first Test of the series against Pakistan at Multan in October 2024, Root overtook Sir Alastair Cook as England's highest Test run-scorer and moved into fifth place on the list of highest run-scorers in Test history. This was part of his highest Test score to date of 262, his sixth double-century, and in the same innings he shared an England record stand of 454 with Harry Brook. This was also a record for any fourth-wicket partnership in Tests.

In the subsequent series in India, Root came under heavy criticism during the third test at Rajkot for being dismissed playing a reverse scoop shot, with it being described by Scyld Berry as "the worst, most stupid, shot in the history of England's Test cricket". However, Root bounced back to hit 106* in the following match in Ranchi.

In the 2024 test series against Sri Lanka, Root equalled and then surpassed Alastair Cook's record for the most Test centuries by an England player, scoring his 33rd and 34th centuries in the first and second innings of the second Test at Lord's respectively.

Personal life

Root married Carrie Cotterell on 1 December 2018. They have two children, born in 2017 and 2020.

International centuries

Having scored 61 international centuries, Root currently is the sixth highest international century maker of all time.

Awards

ICC Men's Test Cricketer of the Year: 2021

ICC Test Team of the Year: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2021, 2023, 2024

Wisden Cricketer of the Year: 2014

ICC ODI Team of the Year: 2015, 2018

England Test Cricketer of the Year: 2015

England Limited-Overs Cricketer of the Year: 2015

Root was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to cricket.

ICC Player of the Month: August 2021

PCA Player of the Year: 2021

Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World: 2021