Joe Root is a right-handed Test batsman and former England captain from Sheffield, with over 40 Test centuries and more Test runs for England than Alastair Cook, Graham Gooch, or Geoffrey Boycott. The Yorkshireman has assembled one of the great batting careers by simply turning up, session after session, and scoring runs that nobody else could, without the theatrics of Virat Kohli or the controversy of Steve Smith.
Named ICC Test Player of the Year in 2021, Root’s consistency across conditions and continents is what separates him from his contemporaries. He averages over 50 in Test cricket and has scored hundreds in India, Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and the West Indies. His sweep shot is the best in world cricket, a weapon that neutralizes spin bowling on turning pitches and gives him an advantage in the subcontinent that most English batsmen never find. He also bowls useful off-spin, breaking partnerships with deliveries that are not as harmless as they look.
Root’s batting appears effortless in a way that masks its sophistication. A right-hander with textbook technique, he finds gaps where gaps do not seem to exist. He rotates the strike with a precision that puts pressure on bowling captains, and he builds long innings by accumulating runs at a rate that feels gentle until you check the scoreboard and realize he has 80 off 120 balls. Since stepping down from the England captaincy in 2022, his batting has reached even greater heights under Ben Stokes’s leadership, freed from the burden of managing a team and allowed to focus entirely on what he does best.
In 2026, Root is central to England’s packed home summer. He plays in the England vs New Zealand Test series starting June 4, where he will bat alongside Stokes at Lord’s and The Oval. The England vs Pakistan Test series from August 19 brings matches at Headingley, his home ground in Yorkshire, and Edgbaston. Root at Headingley, in front of a Yorkshire crowd that claims him as their own, is one of the most compelling sights in English cricket. Check whatisthetime.now/country/united-kingdom for UK time during England’s home Tests.