Most five-wicket hauls by a captain, Quiz! The younger brother of England Test captain, Joe Root, Billy has forever lived under the illustrious shadow of his older sibling. “I just like him,” he said. While there have been encounters on the field in the past – “he once got me and my dad out in the same game in the Yorkshire league” – the pair faced each other in senior professional cricket for the first time a fortnight ago when Nottinghamshire hosted Yorkshire in the Royal London Cup. “You just need to be at your game as often as you can,” he said. “We talked about the game in the car on the way home – I made him drive because he’s got a nicer car – and he told me a few things he saw when I was batting and some ideas to try out in the nets. Reigning champions Warwickshire were eliminated from semi-final contention after losing a last-over thriller against Derbyshire by four wickets. The younger Root came up from the University level, featuring for the Leeds Bradford MCCU and making his first-class debut against Sussex during the 2015 season. I’m different to Joe in that way.”, Is the dream one day to join his brother in the England ranks? “We’re sad to see Billy go but understand that he wants more regular playing opportunities, something which has been hard to come by over the past year,” Nottinghamshire director of cricket Mick Newell said. In fact, having spoken to him, I’d be nothing but delighted if they do. I’d imagine Billy gets a dozen requests every day to talk about his brother. Of course, I couldn’t hold myself back from asking the clichéd ‘Who’s your favourite cricketer?’ question. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Billy Root, the younger brother of Joe, has taken a circuitous road to Nottinghamshire but his century last week bodes well for the future Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. But can you imagine how much better it gets when that field is Lord’s, the home of cricket? Billy Root finding his own way in game – with help from big brother. Cook put on 142 for the fifth wicket with Ryan ten Doeschate (102) as Essex ended on 295 for seven. “But that’s not stopping me.”, This punchy follow-up to what is only a minor quibble for the Nottinghamshire batsman sums up his outlook on cricket and life, having long been used to the comparisons with his more famous older sibling as he looks to carve out a career of substance in the sport. Nottinghamshire left-hander Billy Root, the brother of England Test captain Joe, has signed for Glamorgan. However, Billy remains in the shadow of his ‘cricketingly’ towering brother. “He has the ability to play in all three formats, as he has shown during his time with us and I am sure he will relish his new challenge with Glamorgan.”, If you enjoyed this story, please share with your fellow cricket fans and team-mates. Ask Billy Root. And he’s hungry for more as he prepares for the upcoming season. “It was a good shot, wasn’t it? But the one man who’s probably best X-rayed Joe Root’s sound batting technique is his brother Billy, and he credited his brother’s success to his mental game. First published on Wed 10 May 2017 22.00 BST, “Sometimes when you’ve done something well, you didn’t – Joe’s brother did it,” replies Billy Root when asked about the downside of being the younger brother of the England Test captain. Despite having one year left to run on his current deal, Root played little first-team cricket in 2018, and with Notts’ signings of Joe Clarke, Ben Duckett and Ben Slater, that was unlikely to change next summer. Joe Root was not given a chance to bowl despite his impressive form in England’s victories and contributed just seven with the bat. Name all of Anil Kumble's Test bunnies. Playing for England is what Billy is gunning for, and the icing on the cake would be with Joe captaining that side. It’s fair to say I could be a bit impetuous. When I got dropped it was like ‘here we go again’ but by the end I thought: ‘OK, I can do it.’ Little moments like that can be significant.”. The 26-year-old batsman was released early from his Trent Bridge contract to allow him to join the Welsh county. “I’d like to thank them for giving me my first opportunity in professional cricket. “I don’t know,” he says. “It doesn’t make it difficult for me at all,” he said. Available for everyone, funded by readers. It’s not easy to always be referred to as ‘Joe Root’s brother’ – ‘Billy Root’ will perhaps not become the household name in cricket that ‘Joe Root’ already is. And finally, when that batsman is your very own brother? But according to Billy himself, the success of his older brother … He made his debut against India in 2012 in the 4th Test in Nagpur, a week after I watched my first international game at the Eden Gardens which was an Alastair Cook starrer. Is Billy Root showing signs of joining older brother Joe in England's middle order after maiden century? © 2020 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. It’s pretty cool.”. Jordan Clark added an unbeaten 79 from 58 balls in Lancashire’s 313 for five and then took four wickets as Worcestershire were skittled in under 35 overs. He has been cited as ‘arguably England’s best batsman ever’, an accolade every English batsman would dream of earning. Joe Root’s advice for younger brother Billy was pretty unequivocal after the pair’s first match against one another. The hosts scored 249, behind Dean Elgar’s 78 and half-centuries from Peter Trego and Adam Hose, after being inserted. Despite having one year left to run on his current deal, Root played little first-team cricket in 2018, and with Notts’ signings of Joe Clarke, Ben Duckett and Ben Slater, that was unlikely to … While yet to crack the Championship side – Root remains on a summer contract for now, having put a degree in sports business management at Leeds Met on hold – there is talk of a full-time deal if the numbers continue to stack up. It’s not easy to always be referred to as ‘Joe Root’s brother’ – ‘Billy Root’ will perhaps not become the household name in cricket that ‘Joe Root’ already is. And then he smacked it. Chasing 293, after strong efforts from Sam Hain (109) and Ian Bell (93), Derbyshire required seven runs from Keith Barker’s final over. Michael Klinger hit 134 of Gloucestershire’s 275 runs as they moved off the bottom of South Group with an 11-run victory over Kent. The younger brother of Joe Root has taken a circuitous road to Nottinghamshire but his century last week bodes well for the future, Wed 10 May 2017 22.08 BST Over 10,000 international runs have come off Joe’s bat, courtesy of his ability to judge length, coupled with being a strong back-foot player. That set up a tense 10-run victory over the defending champions, Warwickshire, at Edgbaston. Essex are the current County Championship and Bob Willis Trophy holders, I must have made Sachin play and miss 20 times, Over the course of the campaign it became apparent we needed to supplement our batting stocks, Related Story: 2020 T20 Blast: Glamorgan team preview, fixtures & squad list, Related Story: Bob Willis Trophy: North Group preview and fixtures, Why Bumrah & Shami didn't bowl again v KXIP, Quiz! It was very useful and it seemed to work against Warwickshire. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. The younger brother of England Test captain, Joe Root, Billy has forever lived under the illustrious shadow of his older sibling. Now captain of the England side, he is shouldering the responsibility of fighting back from 2-0 in the Ashes Down Under, with three Tests to go. Morris said: “We are thrilled to secure the signing of Billy Root for the next two seasons. “He can play across all three formats which makes him an ideal signing for the club and he will be a fantastic addition to the dressing room.”. But Billy’s Nottinghamshire gig reached its zenith in late September as he top-scored for his side against Sussex with 132, striking at just under 80 mind you. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. What is he, No3 in the world at the moment? But Billy gave it a good thought and came up with a resolute ‘I like Rangana Herath’. He’s got a very good temperament and I quite like to whack it. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. “It just snuck up on me at the end,” says Root, who struck two sixes and 10 fours, including one audacious reverse hook shot off the bowling of Keith Barker. “At the time it was more about, ‘How many can we get?’ When I was in the car on the way back I thought about it all and realised that it was a big moment.”, The road for Root has certainly been a long and winding one. And when that batsman is sporting national colours, playing for the prestigious Ashes urn? Over the course of the campaign it became apparent we needed to supplement our batting stocks and in Billy we have signed a player who is still young but has experience playing Division One cricket and is hungry to succeed. Steven Finn took four wickets as Middlesex defended 243 all out to beat Glamorgan by 16 runs. “For now it’s more focusing on getting Notts to Lord’s for this final.”. The story of the Root brothers’ days growing up playing in the nets at Sheffield Collegiate while their father, Matt, was turning out for the first team are well documented. All rights reserved. However, Billy remains in the shadow of his ‘cricketingly’ towering brother. Change ), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window). ( Log Out /  Alastair Cook continued his fine form in the Royal London One-Day Cup with a century as Essex beat Sussex by 10 runs. The transition from Sheffield Collegiate to playing county cricket isn’t the easiest, he cautioned aspiring cricketers. “It’s only really a help more than a hindrance.”. He’s very strong off the back foot and I’m more of a front-foot player. I was winding him up, telling Stuart Broad to come in a bit closer because he can’t hit it that far. The Welsh county were also last in the 50-over tournament and failed to qualify for the T20 Blast knockout stages. He had not even realised he was close to three figures during an impish 107 not out from 93 balls that turned his side’s 92 for four in the 21st over into a match-winning 303 for six. ( Log Out /  And Jeevan Mendis and Matt Critchley each found the boundary to move Derbyshire two points behind second-placed Worcestershire in the North Group. But opener Rossouw hit 156 from 113 balls to leave Hampshire on the brink of victory, which Lewis McManus secured with successive sixes. “I’m just working hard in the gym and in the nets indoors really,” he said humbly. Get the latest news, recommended reading and offers sent to your inbox. Both pose challenges in their own rights. I’ve not had the fortune to watch Joe Root play live. “Joe being so successful makes it easier, because if I ever need any help he’s quite a handy person to call upon, isn’t he? “Last season wasn’t a great one for the club but there is a lot of talent here and I believe I can make a big contribution to the side over the next few seasons and help us push for silverware in white-ball cricket, while we look to improve our results in the County Championship.”. England men's ODI players in the Nineties, Rohit turns down DRS call, later proven wrong, Quiz! Nottinghamshire left-hander Billy Root, the brother of England Test captain Joe, has signed for Glamorgan.