The many ages of Joe Root, the England great who always finds a way

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An 11-year-old boy wears his cap everywhere, pulled low down over his brow, all the better for displaying the white rose stitched above his eyeline. He wears it when he accompanies his mum, Helen, around the shops in Sheffield. He wears it when he goes with his younger brother, Billy, to watch his dad, Matthew, play at the local cricket club. Being the older brother, the boy bats first, in his cap, whilst his brother bowls at him on the boundary edge.

A few months later and the headwear in question, a Yorkshire schoolboy’s cricket cap, is still firmly perched atop of the boy’s bright blond hair on a family trip to Trent Bridge to watch Nasser Hussain’s England play India. It’s still there after the close of play as he waits with his mum in the car park for the players to emerge. One of them, Craig White, notices the small boy’s head gear.

“Is that a Yorkshire cap?” White asks the lad.

“Yes it is” replies the boy, beaming underneath its brim.

“Brilliant,” White shoots back. “Maybe one day you’ll get to play with me.” Five years later, the boy, now a few inches taller but still small for his age, is about to make his debut for Yorkshire’s Second XI. Craig White is also playing. The boy plucks up the courage to remind White of their previous encounter. White is kindly but it is clear he doesn’t remember. The boy does. It’s a special moment in the early age of Joe Root.

Root has seemingly been destined for batting greatness since he was a child but one of his defining strengths is his ability to score runs in adversity. Like all the