Phil Jaques Rooting for Yorkshire team-mate Joe (From York Press)

Phil Jaques Rooting for Yorkshire team-mate Joe

12:34pm Saturday 4th August 2012 in Sport

Phil Jaques has revealed that Yorkshire team-mate Joe Root has surprised him with his consistent performances in all forms of the game.

Root has excelled at various times across all three competitions, most notably scoring a double hundred last month in the LV= County Championship against Hampshire at Southampton.

The 21-year-old right-hander has also forced his way into England’s preliminary 30-man squad for September’s World Twenty20 tournament in Sri Lanka, which will be trimmed down to 15 later this month.

“Rooty’s been outstanding all year,” said left-handed Jaques. “I hadn’t seen much of him before this season, but he’s an impressive young lad.

“He’s very focused, he works hard at his game, and he’s getting his rewards for that. I was really impressed with his t20 stuff. He came across to me when I came here as a real four-day prospect, but the way he hit the ball in the t20 was really impressive.”

Meanwhile, Yorkshire’s hierarchy are refusing to rush Ryan Sidebottom as the left-arm swing bowler edges closer to a return from six weeks out with a torn calf.

Sidebottom has been bowling in warm-ups at both Leicester and Northampton, but he will not play in next week’s two CB40 matches against Warwickshire and Northants.

He will play in a second XI match against the MCC Universities at York on Tuesday.