ASHES PREVIEW

THE FINAL FRONTIER

JOE ROOT

Yas Rana heads to Yorkshire to meet England’s greatest ever batter and asks if a leading role in an Ashes away victory could finally earn Joe Root the wider acclaim his towering career deserves

There’s a consistently loud echo that can only be produced by giant sports halls. Specifically, giant sports halls filled with teenagers. This one in Leeds has a particularly frantic feel to it. An array of Chance to Shine coaches and an army of volunteers from RBC Wealth Management are overseeing a skills and leadership session with girls from a local secondary school. Lingering in the background is a herd of local and national journalists. In the midst of the action is the man they’ve come to see.

At a glance, Joe Root is not obviously distinguishable from the other tracksuited leaders.

His presence doesn’t dominate a space. There is no strut or swagger. When he interacts with the kids and other leaders, his body language gives no indication of his status. He listens attentively and gives no hint of impatience across a morning where he is constantly pulled from one commitment to another; one minute giving a speech about leadership, the next taking part in a challenge with the kids.

Arriving at the coaching session two hours early after a ticket-booking error on my part, I do my best to construct a DIY workspace at the back of the hall. It’s not a particularly edifying sight; I’m on the floor, back against the wall, with my laptop resting on my knees. As I’m beavering away, Root approaches me to say hello. We make small talk about Sheffield United’s plight at the bottom of the Championship table (apparently it’s all gone downhill since Iliman Ndiaye left) before he moves on.

Root’s reputation for unshowy decency has quietly been built across his career. While steadily compiling a record that surpasses any English batter before him, he’s always had an everyman quality about him.

He has been filmed enjoying Sheffield United victories alongside their manager Chris Wilder in videos posted on social media. You’ll do well to spot Root, though. While Wilder is conducting the orchestra standing on a pub table, Root is part of the choir singing along in the background.