Ex-Shropshire man Sharp always knew Root had that star quality
Former Shropshire batter Kevin Sharp knew Joe Root had talent from a young age – but few could have predicted his success.
An unbeaten century, his 35th for his country in the longer form of the game, put England in a commanding position in the first Test against Pakistan in Multan at the close of day three.
In the process, Sheffield-born Root overtook Sir Alastair Cook to become England’s highest-ever run scorer in Test matches, moving him to fifth on the all-time list.
And Sharp, who played at Bridgnorth and for Shropshire as well as working as a coach at Worcestershire and Yorkshire, said Root was always destined to be a star from the moment he met him as a boy.
He said: “The first time I met Joe was when his dad, Matt, brought him to Headingley (for a training session).
“He was 12 years old, but he could have been 25.
“The way he understood his strengths, his weaknesses, what he wanted to work on, what he wanted to get better at
“After that session, I went upstairs and I chatted to the academy director Ian Dews, and I just said to him, ‘I’ve just had this little fellow Joe Root in. I’ll make a statement now: he’ll open the batting for Yorkshire one day.’ And, of course, the rest is history.”
Root’s Yorkshire team-mate Harry Brook also made an unbeaten century.
