Joe Root

Joseph Edward "Joe" Root (born 30 December 1990) is an English cricketer, who plays for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England. He was originally a right-handed opening batsman and occasional off-spinner, with a similar playing style to former England captain Michael Vaughan. However, he has played the majority of his cricket for England in the middle order.

He made his debut for England in the 2012 Test series in India and made his ODI and Twenty20 International debuts on the same tour, before scoring his maiden Test century at his home ground of Headingley the following Spring against New Zealand. He is currently the No. 2 ranked batsman in Test cricket on the ICC Player Rankings and No. 10 on the ICC ODI Rankings.

Early life, family and youth career

Root is the elder son of Helen and Matt. His brother Billy is an MCC Young Cricketer.

He attended King Ecgbert School, Sheffield and at 15 on a cricket sports scholarship, Worksop College in Worksop as a weekly boarder.

Root followed in his father's footsteps by joining Sheffield Collegiate C.C. Former Yorkshire batsman and England captain, Michael Vaughan also learnt his trade at Collegiate and was a source of inspiration for Root who became a protégé of his. According to Alastair Cook, he also became the 60th player who had played at Bunbury Festival that went on to play for England by 2013 as of June 2014.

England

England ⁱ/ˈɪŋɡlənd/ is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west. The Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers much of the central and southern part of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic; and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight.

The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Palaeolithic period, but takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century, has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world. The English language, the Anglican Church, and English law – the basis for the common law legal systems of many other countries around the world – developed in England, and the country's parliamentary system of government has been widely adopted by other nations. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the world's first industrialised nation.

England cricket team

The England cricket team is the team that represents England and Wales (and until 1992 also Scotland) in international cricket. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) from 1903 until the end of 1996.

England and Australia were the first teams to play a Test match (between 15–19 March 1877), and these two countries together with South Africa formed the Imperial Cricket Conference (predecessor to today's International Cricket Council) on 15 June 1909. England and Australia also played the first One Day International (ODI) on 5 January 1971. England's first Twenty20 International (T20I) was played on 13 June 2005, once more against Australia.

As of 26 January 2016, England has played 969 Test matches, winning 346 and losing 282 (with 341 draws). The team has won The Ashes on 32 occasions, the same number as their opponents Australia. The team has played 661 ODIs, winning 319, and its record in ODI tournaments includes finishing as runners-up in three Cricket World Cups (1979, 1987 and 1992), and two ICC Champions Trophies (2004 and 2013). The team has played 78 T20Is, winning 38, and won the ICC World Twenty20 in 2010.

NatWest t20 Blast

The NatWest t20 Blast is a Twenty20 cricket league in England and Wales run by the ECB from 2014. The league consists of the 18 first-class county teams divided into two divisions of nine teams each. This setup, which was first announced in November 2013, replaced the Friends Life t20 competition as the main domestic Twenty20 competition in England and Wales.

Finals day

The semi-finals and final of the competition are played consecutively on the same day and at the same ground, at the end of the competition. During finals day, there is a mascot derby, which is a race between mascots representing all 18 counties. Finals day is usually held at Edgbaston.

Competition format

There are 18 clubs competing for the t20 title. These clubs are initially split into 2 divisions (North and South), each containing 9 teams, for the group stage of the competition. During the group stage (from May to July) each club plays 6 of the other teams in the same division twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents. They play the other two teams only once, for a total of 14 games each. Teams receive two points for a win and one point for a tie or if the match is abandoned. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then net run rate. At the end of the group stage, the top four teams from each group enter the knockout stage.

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players each on a field at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard-long pitch. The game is played by 120 million players in many countries, making it the world's second most popular sport. Each team takes its turn to bat, attempting to score runs, while the other team fields. Each turn is known as an innings (used for both singular and plural).

The bowler delivers the ball to the batsman who attempts to hit the ball with his bat away from the fielders so he can run to the other end of the pitch and score a run. Each batsman continues batting until he is out. The batting team continues batting until ten batsmen are out, or a specified number of overs of six balls have been bowled, at which point the teams switch roles and the fielding team comes in to bat.

In professional cricket, the length of a game ranges from 20 overs (T20) per side to Test cricket played over five days. The Laws of Cricket are maintained by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) with additional Standard Playing Conditions for Test matches and One Day Internationals.