Joe Root is poised to make his first red-ball appearance for Yorkshire in almost two years. He is set to line up against Gloucestershire this week in the second round of the County Championship.
Root only played domestic cricket last year in the Hundred for Trent Rockets after the Ashes. Yorkshire announced him in their 13-man squad for the trip to Bristol. After missing the opening fixture against Leicestershire following a two-month tour of India, Root will play the next four rounds. He will then travel to Northamptonshire for the seventh round, which begins on May 24. The 33-year-old last played first-class cricket for his home county in May 2022 against Warwickshire, a month after retiring as Test captain, and has played three times in the T20 Blast.
It is a positive development for Yorkshire's promotion aspirations as they recently welcomed Harry Brook back for the first of his five-game stint. Brook had not played since England's white-ball tour of the West Indies in December, having withdrawn from the India series following the passing of his grandmother, Pauline. He made a successful return to action, scoring a fluent unbeaten century off just 69 deliveries. Brook's final match will be against Glamorgan at home, starting on May 3rd, before taking a break ahead of England's T20 series against Pakistan, which leads into the T20 World Cup.
After an inconsistent tour of the subcontinent, during which he scored 320 runs at an average of 35.55, with only one century coming in the fourth Test as India won 4-1, Root will use the next month to prepare for a busy six months. England will host West Indies and Sri Lanka for a three-Test series this season, starting with the first match at Lord's on July 10. After that, they will tour Pakistan and New Zealand before the end of the year.
Yorkshire will aim to take advantage of the availability of both their star players as they seek to return to Division One after suffering relegation in 2022. They were hindered last summer by a 48-point deduction that dashed any hopes of an immediate return, but they are now considered favourites to emerge from Division Two this season.