BACK TO HIS ROOTS
JOE HITS NETS WITH HIS OLD MENTORS AHEAD OF ENGLAND’S WINTER TOUR
JOE ROOT has been working his socks off in a bid to start the winter Test campaign in New Zealand with a bang.
Root is stepping aside for the five Twenty20s, along with other senior all-format players such as Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler.
But, as skipper, his focus on the two-Test series that follows is total.
He has even been going back to his roots to try to find a way to score more runs now he is moving back to No 4 in the batting order.
And with new head coach Chris Silverwood to work alongside, Root knows this is a freshening up of his Test reign.
“I’ve already started netting,” said Root after watching the Hundred draw unfold. “I want to work on a few different things.
“I want to start the winter off with a bang to set a marker early in terms of going out to New Zealand and making big scores. I really want to try to lead from the front.
“You have to take these pockets of time as an opportunity to improve yourself so I’ve been using Josh Varley, the head coach of Sheffield Collegiate, my old club.
“From being 12 and 13 years old, we threw balls at each other all day.
“I’ve also been down to Denstone College. Simon Guy is head of cricket there and when I started out at Yorkshire, he was a bit of a mentor for me. He knows my game like the back of his hand.
“I’ve been lining things up slightly differently to get a rhythm back into my batting without it affecting my balance.” Root will play three games for the Trent Rockets in the Hundred next summer before taking on Pakistan in a Test series.
“Not playing Test cricket is not an option, but I’m still glad to be involved in the Hundred,” he added.
“For me to get in to the T20 squad for the 2020 World Cup in Australia it will mean that I have to keep getting better.
“It raises the bar for the team if that’s the case. If someone like Tom Banton comes in and sets the world alight, I’ve got to try to force him out in the limited opportunities I get.”