Joe Root

Joseph Edward Root is a top-order batter, born on December 30, 1990, in Sheffield, Yorkshire. He is a right-handed batter and a part-time right-arm off-spinner. He has represented English cricket across all formats and is primarily regarded as one of the greatest Test batters to play the game. 

Root is a top-notch batter who bats with elegance, possesses great technique at the crease, and has scored a substantial number of runs for England, primarily in the longest format of the game, consistently. His proficiency and temperament at such a young age made the late great Martin Crowe name him in the famous ‘Fab Four’ (that included the likes of Virat Kohli (IND), Steve Smith (AUS), and Kane Williamson (NZ)).

Joe Root: Along the Years

Joe Root Records

• Joint second-most catches in an ODI series (13)

• 12 consecutive test matches with a fifty

• First cricketer to score a double century in their 100th Test 

• Third-most runs in a calendar year in Tests (1708)

• Fifth fastest to 7000 runs in ODIs

• Most half-centuries for England in Tests 

• The most catches in Test Cricket history (213)

• Most centuries for England in Tests 

• Second-youngest batter to score 12,000 runs in Tests

• Seventh player to score 12,000 runs in Tests

• First batter to score 5,000 runs in the World Test Championship 

• Highest run-scorer for England in Tests

• Second-highest run-scorer in Tests (13543)

Joe Root Awards and Accolades

• Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2014

• England Test Cricketer of the Year 2015

• England Limited-Overs Cricketer of the Year 2015

• Fans’ Player of the Year 2015

• ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year 2021

• PCA Player of the Year 2021

• LV=Insurance Men’s Test Player of the Summer 2023

• Named in ICC Champions Trophy 2013 Team of the Tournament 

• Named in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Team of the Tournament

• Named in ICC Test Team of the Year 2014, 2015, 2016, 2021, 2023, and 2024

• Named in ICC ODI Team of the Year 2015 and 2018

• In recognition of his contributions to cricket, Root was named a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 New Year's Honours.

Joe Root Career

Joe Root initially started as a right-handed opening batter and an occasional off-spinner, but then moved to the middle order, where he has played most of his cricket. From making his debut in 2012 to being named in the country’s greatest Test XI by the ECB to winning the World Cup, Joe Root has come a long way in his cricketing career.

Joe Root's Domestic Career

Joe Root made his senior domestic debut for Yorkshire against Essex in the Pro40 Division One in Leeds on September 27, 2009. He opened the batting with Andrew Gale and scored 63 off 95 balls on his List-A debut. 

In the next year, Root made his first-class (FC) debut for Yorkshire against Loughborough NCCU in an MCC University Match in Leeds on May 10, 2010. On his FC debut, he could not shine much with the bat. He made his T20 debut for Yorkshire against Warwickshire in the Friends Life T20 in Leeds on June 03, 2011. He failed to get going and was dismissed for a single digit. However, he managed to dismiss the Warwickshire skipper Jim Troughton, trapped leg-before-wicket.  

Root was also part of the Yorkshire squad for the now-defunct Champions League T20 in the 2012-13 season. In the Big Bash League (BBL) 2018-19, Root played for the Sydney Thunder but failed to capitalize down under. He played in the International League T20 2022-23 for Dubai Capitals and had a good tournament with the bat, scoring 214 runs in 5 innings at an average of 53.50. The Trent Rockets signed him in The Hundred, and he has been an integral part of the Rockets ever since. 

Joe Root's IPL Career

In the IPL 2018 auction, Joe Root took part for the first time but went unsold in the bidding. For the 2019 IPL season, Root was disallowed by the England Cricket Board (ECB) from putting his name forward for the tournament due to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

After failing to cut in the most coveted franchise league, Root put his name once again and was lucky to draw the attention of the Rajasthan Royals (RR). He was picked for the base price of INR 1 crore at the IPL 2023 auction. Under the leadership of Sanju Samson, he made his IPL debut against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on May 07, 2023, but did not get an opportunity to bat. In the three matches he played, he got to bat in a solitary innings and managed to score just 10 runs. 

Joe Root's International Career

Part of the Fab Four of Test cricket, along with Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, and Virat Kohli, Joe Root is known for his solid batting technique and consistency. Coming from a family with a rich cricketing background, Root has been impressive from the very start.

Joe Root ODI Career 

Under the captaincy of Alastair Cook, Joe Root made his ODI debut for England against India in England’s tour of India in Rajokot on January 11, 2013. He did not get an opportunity to bat but bowled nine full overs without clinching a single wicket. He scored his maiden ODI fifty in the fourth ODI of the series. Post this series, he was included in the squad for England’s tour of New Zealand in 2013. He scored two half-centuries in the first two matches of the series. Root was named in England’s squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2013. He scored 173 runs in 5 innings at a strike rate of 90.10, including a half-century against Sri Lanka. He played a crucial role in getting his team to the final and was named in the “Team of the Tournament’ by the ICC.

Root then played in the ODI series against Australia in 2014, where he was dropped after a poor performance in the first two matches and was recalled for the last match. He was part of the team that toured the West Indies in 2015. In the third ODI of the series, Root scored his maiden ODI century. Root received the Player of the Series award for his performance in the series. Root was then selected for the seven-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, where he performed quite well even though England didn’t manage to win the series.

Root was selected for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, where he became the youngest English player to score a century at a World Cup after hitting a ton against Sri Lanka. Root was selected for the tour to the UAE in 2015 to face Pakistan. Root finished the series with 145 runs, and he was named 12th man in the World ODI XI by the ICC for the year 2015.

In 2016, Root was part of the squad for the ODI series against India. Root made two half-centuries in the first two matches before getting ruled out of the final match due to an injury. Root was selected for the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 and was part of the ‘Team of the Tournament’ by the ICC. The same year, he became the third-fastest batter, in terms of number of innings, to score 4,000 runs in the ODIs. 2018 was a good year for Root as he scored 800 runs from just 19 innings. His performance saw him named in the World ODI XI by the ICC for the year 2018.

Root was selected for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 and had an excellent start to the tournament, scoring three half-centuries in the first six matches. He helped keep England’s batting lineup together throughout the tournament. Root’s batting technique and the ability to keep the scorecard running helped England throughout the tournament. He was named in the Team of the Tournament for the 2019 World Cup by the ICC. Root finished the World Cup with 556 runs from 11 innings.

Root was selected for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 held in India. In a dismal tournament for the defending champions, England, he scored 276 runs in 9 innings at an average of 30.66 and a highest score of 82 against New Zealand in the opener at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. He also broke Graham Gooch's record and became the leading run-scorer for England in ODIs.

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Joe Root Test Career

Joe Root’s international debut came against India in the fourth Test of England’s tour of India in 2012-13 in Nagpur. He scored 73 runs from 229 balls in his first innings. After this series, he was selected for England’s tour of New Zealand in 2013. He ended the series with a paltry 88 runs. Following this, New Zealand toured England. He scored his first Test century in this series and ended the series with 243 runs. Root was then selected for the 2013 Ashes. He scored a century in the second match of the series.

He also took his first Test wicket in the series. He was then selected for the 2013-2014 Ashes series. Root failed to perform in the series and was eventually dropped for the last match of the series. He finished the series with 192 runs to his name. A series against India followed the Ashes in which Root performed quite well, scoring 518 runs and taking one wicket. He was named in the World Test XI by the ICC for the year 2014.

Root was selected for the England squad for the series against the West Indies. Root continued his good form and scored two half-centuries in the first Test. In the second match, he scored his sixth Test century. Following this, he was selected for the series against New Zealand, which he finished with 183 runs and a wicket to his credit.

Root was made the vice-captain of the Test team before the beginning of the 2015 Ashes. He scored a century in the first match of the series. He scored another century in the fourth Test match. He finished the series as England’s highest run scorer and also reached the number-one spot in the ICC Test batting rankings. After this, another major Test series for Joe Root was against India in 2016. He had a mixed bag of performances as England lost the series. Root was the captain of the English team in the 2017-18 Ashes. England had a poor outing as they lost four out of the five Tests. Root failed to score a century in the series and had to retire in the final match due to gastroenteritis.

England bounced back and defeated India 4-1 in a five-match series. Root scored a ton in the last match of the series. After this, England toured Sri Lanka, where Root secured his first-ever test series away win as captain. In 2019, while playing against the West Indies in the third test match of the series, Joe Root had an exchange of words with Shannon Gabriel, the West Indies fast bowler. The use of abusive language by Gabriel resulted in him getting a four-match ban. Joe Root again had to taste failure as a captain in the Ashes when Australia got their hand on the Ashes 2019 trophy. With this, he also became the first English captain in 18 years to have failed to win the Ashes at home.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the West Indies toured England in 2020. Root missed the first Test due to his daughter’s birth, and England lost to the Windies under the stand-in captaincy of Ben Stokes. However, He returned to the Test setup in the next Test and England sealed a come-from-behind victory in the next two Tests, with Root scoring an unbeaten half-century in the second innings. 

England toured India for an all-format series in a bio-bubble setting in early 2021. Root set up the stage for himself in what turned out to be a career peak in Tests from thereon. He dominated the bowlers with ease and smashed a double century in his 100th Test in the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. In the third Test, with a shortage of spinners other than Jack Leach, Root tried his hand in the turning tracks of Ahmedabad with the pink ball. To his surprise, he managed to spin a web and pick up his maiden Test five-wicket haul by conceding just 8 runs. 

Just a few months later, India toured England for a five-match Test series. Root ended the series as the top run-scorer with 737 runs in 9 innings at an average of 105.28. He finished the calendar year as the top run-getter in Tests with 1708 runs and single-handedly concealed English test cricket’s rough phase. He was awarded the ‘Test Cricketer of the Year 2021’ by the ICC.

In The Ashes 2021-22 held down under, Root managed to score 322 runs in 10 innings. However, after the defeat to West Indies in early 2022, Root stepped down from Test captaincy to focus on his batting. Root started to accustom his batting approach with respect to the new style of play introduced by England’s new Test coach and former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum, popularly known as “Bazball.” He started to play unorthodox shots, including the reverse ramp shot that he mastered over the course of time, at a rapid strike rate.

In England’s tour of New Zealand in 2023, Root scored an unbeaten century in the first innings, comprising 153 runs, and stitched a mammoth 302-run stand with Harry Brook after a mini-collapse at 21/3. However, New Zealand won a last-ball thriller, thanks to Neil Wagner’s last-over heroics.

In The Ashes 2023 held at home, he scored 412 runs in 9 innings at an average of 51.50. In early 2024, England toured India for a five-match Test series. Root picked up five wickets in the match, including a four-wicket haul in the first innings. After having poor outings in the first three Tests, Root scored an unbeaten century in the first innings of the fourth Test in Ranchi. 

The 33-year-old batter was the leading run-scorer for England in their Test series against the West Indies at home in July 2024. He scored a century in the second Test held in Nottingham. In the recently concluded Test series between England and Sri Lanka in August-September 2024, Root shattered numerous Test records to stand out as one of the finest Test batters in the current era. He topped the charts for England in the most centuries list, surpassing the legendary English opener Alastair Cook. He also went past Kumar Sangakkara in the list of batters with the most runs in Test cricket and has become the sixth-highest run-getter in Tests. For his batting prowess, Root was awarded the ‘Player of the Series’ as he amassed 375 runs in the three-match Test series.

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Joe Root T20I Career

Joe Root made his T20I debut against India in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on  December 22, 2012. In 2013, he was selected for the T20I series against Australia and scored his personal best T20I score of an unbeaten 90 in the first T20I held in Southampton. He managed to score 90 not out in the first match of the series. A broken thumb meant Root had to be left out of the England squad for the ICC World T20 2014 held in Bangladesh. 

Joe Root was selected in the England squad for the ICC World Twenty20 2016. The right-handed batter smashed 83 off just 44 balls to script a historic run chase against South Africa in a group-stage match. England chased a record 230 with 2 wickets to spare, and Root was adjudged the ‘Player of the Match.’  He scored a half-century in the final and took a wicket, becoming only the third player ever to do so in an ICC World T20 final. 

He was also part of the series against India in 2016-17. He made 30+ scores in all three matches of the series. Root last played a T20I against Pakistan way back in 2019.

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Joe Root Captaincy

Joe Root was named as the full-time Test captain in February 2017 after the retirement of Alastair Cook. He scored a century in his first match as the captain, becoming the sixth English player to do so. Root was criticised for his captaincy quite some time, with critics often questioning his defensive captaincy, like in the 2017-18 Ashes.

Root’s batting average also dropped after picking up the captaincy, and he stepped down from Test captaincy, post the loss to West Indies in the Caribbean in early 2022. Root was also the captain of the Yorkshire side, which won the 2014 County Championship title in 2014 & 2015.

Joe Root Under-19 Career

Joe Root learned the basics of the game at the Sheffield Collegiate before making a debut for the Yorkshire Second Team in 2007. Success at the second team level saw him promoted to the first team. Around the same time, Root also played for the England Under-19 against Bangladesh and won the Man of the Series award.

He was also selected for the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2010 squad. He only managed to score 170 runs in 6 innings at an average of 27.60. The next year, he made his Championship debut against Worcestershire. 

Joe Root Family

Joe Root is the eldest son of his parents, Helen and Matt Root. Wanda Root and Amanda Root are his sisters, and Billy Root is his brother.

Root and his girlfriend Carrie Cotterell got engaged in March 2016 and married in 2018. The couple is blessed with a son named Alfie and a daughter named Isabella, who was born during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Joe Root Cars

Root has been spotted operating a few unique motors throughout the years. A Range Rover Sport SV, valued at an incredible £180,000, is among them. Root also owned a BMW X5, which has a starting price of about £70,000. Lastly, he was once seen driving a Mercedes-Benz GLE Class Coupe, which starts around £78,000 for the most recent model.