Roots of the game, by first family of cricket
From a baby-sized cardboard bat to leading his country out at Lord’s, a cricketer’s remarkable journey
TWENTY-SIX-AND-A-HALF YEARS ago, on the day he left the maternity ward, his father handed him a cardboard cricket bat.
And today he will watch from the Long Room as his son leads out his country at Lord’s.
Joe Root, born in Sheffield to a family with cricket in its blood, will toss the coin as the 80th man to captain England at Test level.
But the footprints on the hallowed turf of WG Grace, Ted Dexter and Len Hutton are shallow compared to the giant ones of his father.
It was on September 1, 2000, that Matt Root walked out for Sheffield Collegiate to face Eastbourne in the final of the National Championship.
“You never forget that feeling,” Mr Root senior told The Yorkshire Post.
“It’s an absolute thrill. The place is steeped in history, and walking through the Long Room on to the pitch is such a great experience.”
However, for all its history – it dates back almost as far as the England team – Sheffield Collegiate is a world away from the arena into which Mr Root’s son will step today.
“To captain England in front of a full house is a completely different experience,” Mr Root said. “It’s the pinnacle of any cricketer’s career, to lead your team out at Lord’s. It’s one of the most important jobs in English sport.”
Yet for the Root family, it is but a milepost on a sporting journey that spans three generations.
The new captain’s grandfather, Don, was one of five boys, all of whom played cricket. Matt Root was good enough to represent the MCC, as well as Sheffield Collegiate, at Lord’s. His younger son, Billy, plays for Nottinghamshire.
“It will be a great family occasion today,” Mr Root said. He and his wife Helen will be present, along with their new grandson, Joe’s boy Alfred, and his fiancée, Carrie.
“If we’re fielding, I’ll be in the Long Room and hopefully I’ll get to congratulate him on the way out,” Mr Root said. “If we’re batting I’ll be on the second deck, somewhere behind the bowler’s arms.”
Brother Billy will be absent, preparing to turn out against Yorkshire in a T20 match.
The new captain has fashioned an image as the sport’s “cheeky chappie”. But the signature grin had yet to emerge as his early game took shape.
His personal innings, which he had opened with that cardboard bat, had begun to blossom at Collegiate, the club that also produced another England captain, Michael Vaughan.
When Joe was old enough, his father recalled, he would field while the Collegiate first team was netting.
“Then he would insist on having some throw-downs until it went dark or the thrower got tired.
“On Saturdays, I’d be playing, Joe and Billy would put their stumps in on the other side of the boundary and have their own game all day.”
Nick Gaywood, who played in that Collegiate team of 2000, recalls Joe Root learning his trade there, but says few would have laid down money on him becoming one of the greats.
“I think you would have got a mixed response to that,” he said. “It’s not an exact science.
“If you had asked me, I would have said he could make it as a county cricketer if he worked really hard.
“At that age, 13, you can’t always tell. You could see it in Samit Patel, but not in Joe.
“But he kept improving. When he came back to Collegiate at 18 after the Yorkshire Academy, and he went into the first team, you saw a massive difference. He stepped up a gear.
“You thought, he’s absolutely a county player now.”
Root has exactly the right temperament to lead England today, Mr Gaywood said.
“I think he’ll be fine. To him, today won’t be any different.”