Root to make Yorkshire red-ball return after almost two years

As he gets ready to take the pitch this week against Gloucestershire in the County Championship’s second round, Joe Root will be playing for Yorkshire for the first time in nearly two years under the red ball.

For the trip to Bristol, Yorkshire confirmed that Root, whose only domestic cricket experience came in the Hundred for Trent Rockets after the Ashes, was part of their 13-man squad. Following the two-month tour of India, Root missed the initial match against Leicestershire. He will play the next four rounds before travelling to Northamptonshire for the seventh round, which starts on May 24. A month after resigning as Test captain, the 33-year-old last participated in first-class cricket for his native county against Warwickshire in May 2022. He then participated in three T20 Blast matches until June.

Yorkshire’s chances of getting promoted are further enhanced by this, as last week they welcomed back Harry Brook for the first of his five-game spell. After withdrawing from the India series due to the death of his grandmother Pauline, Brook had not played since England’s white-ball tour of the West Indies in December. However, he returned to action with a clean 100 off just 69 deliveries. Starting on May 3, Brook’s final game at home will be against Glamorgan. After that, the team will take a rest before England takes on Pakistan in a Twenty20 series that will culminate in the Twenty20 World Cup.

After a lacklustre subcontinent tour in which he amassed 320 runs at 35.55—his lone century coming in the fourth Test as India won 4-1—Root will utilise the upcoming month to hone his skills in preparation for a busy six months. This season, England will host three Test series, the first of which starts on July 10 at Lord’s against the West Indies and Sri Lanka. Before the year ends, they go to Pakistan and New Zealand.

Yorkshire, who were relegated in 2022, will be hoping to return to Division One by utilising the maximum amount of time that both of their stars will be available. They are favoured to return from Division Two this time around despite being crippled by a 48-point deduction that destroyed any aspirations of an instant return last summer.