Sheffield born England cricket captain Joe Root is awarded the MBE

England's Joe Root who has received a MBE in the New Year's Honours List. PA Photo.

Joe Root – one of Sheffield’s most illustrious cricketing sons – has been recognised in the Queen’s New Year’s Honour’s list

England Test Cricket Captain Joe, 28 who grew up in Dore has been awarded the MBE For services to Cricket.

King Ecgbert School pupil Joe Root was given a cricket scholarship to Worksop College aged 15 and further honed his skills at Sheffield Collegiate Cricket Club, rubbing shoulders with some of England’s most legendary players.

He made his Yorkshire 1st team debut in 2009 and immediately proved his potential as a batsman, scoring a half-century against Essex and finishing the game as his team’s top scorer.

The focus and energy Joe displayed during high-profile debuts continued in 2012 as he finished once again as top scorer in his maiden test match against India before opening batting for England in the 2013 Ashes series alongside captain Alastair Cook.

Several seasons later, scoring easy centuries across ODI, T20 and test matches across the globe, Root made his first steps toward captaincy, being named vice-captain for the 2015 Ashes series and hitting a powerful 134 on its first day. Driven by his newfound responsibility, Root’s performances earned him Man of the Series and elevated him to No 1 ranked batsman by the ICC, paving the way for the beginning of his full-time captaincy in 2017.

His trademark composure has since pushed England towards historic victories, such as their first test series victory in Sri Lanka for almost two decades, earning the young Yorkshireman a permanent place in the hearts of cricket fans.