Joe Root to make red-ball return for Yorkshire after two years

Joe Root. Pic/AFP

Joe Root is all set to return to red-ball cricket after two years. He will play in the second round of the County Championship against Gloucestershire.

Root's absence from the domestic scene since May 2022 has been felt keenly, his sporadic appearances in T20 cricket and the Hundred unable to quench the thirst of the Yorkshire faithful.

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Following the Ashes and subcontinent tours, Joe Root shifts his focus to the traditional format, where his elegant stroke play and astute leadership promise to reignite Yorkshire's fortunes.

Root missed the first match against Leicestershire due to a busy two-month tour in India. The upcoming round will be played in Northamptonshire on May 24. After resigning from Test captaincy, Root has not featured in first-class cricket since May 2022.

Joining Root in the fray is the dynamic Harry Brook, who had not played since England's white-ball tour of the West Indies in December 2023 after withdrawing from the India series following the death of his grandmother Pauline. Brook scored a scintillating unbeaten century in his comeback in 69 deliveries. Brook's last fixture will be against Glamorgan at home, starting May 3, before taking a break ahead of England's T20 series against Pakistan that leads into the T20 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 a 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.

(With IANS Inputs)