DETERMINED JOE RETURNS TO HIS ROOTS

JOE ROOT has been working hard to try to start the winter Test campaign in New Zealand with a bang.

Root (above) is stepping aside for the five T20 internationals, along with other senior all-format players like 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 in a bid to find a way to score more big runs now he is returning to No.4 in the order.

And with new head coach Chris Silverwood alongside him, Root knows this is a freshening up of his reign. “I’ve already started netting,” said Root after watching the Hundred draft. “I want to work on a few different things and it’s been good to get back into routines.

“I want to start the winter off with a bang. To set a marker early in terms of going to New Zealand and making big scores. I want to try to lead from the front. You have to take these pockets of time as an opportunity to improve so I’ve been using Josh Varley, head coach of Sheffield Collegiate, my old club.

“From being 12 and 13 years old, we threw balls at each other all day so we’ve been doing a bit of work together and I’ve also been down to Denstone College.

“Former Yorkshire wicket-keeper Simon Guy is head of cricket there and when I started out at Headingley, he was a bit of a mentor.

“I’ve just been lining things up slightly differently, to get a rhythm back into my batting without it affecting my balance.”

While Root is putting a huge amount of energy into his red-ball batting, there is the small matter of a T20 World Cup in Australia next year.

He will play three games for the Trent Rockets in the Hundred next summer. “Not playing Test cricket is not an option, but I’m still glad to be involved in the Hundred,” he added.

“To get into the England T20 squad in Australia I have to keep getting better.”