STUART BROAD may have won the battle, but Joe Root won the war as the England captain’s superb unbeaten 130 helped Yorkshire to the safety of a draw against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.

Root chuckled when asked about being struck on the helmet by a Broad bouncer with his first ball at the crease on the final day of the Championship season-opener after the White Rose, chasing 447, had slipped to 24-2.

“It wasn’t ideal, and it dented the ego slightly as well!” he said.

“But you expect someone with 400 Test wickets to come hard at you and do everything he can to try and get you out.

“On that surface, he proved quite challenging to bat against. Fair play to him. He got it right on the money.”

Root went through an eight-minute concussion test with Yorkshire physio Kunwar Bansil before being given the green light to continue his innings.

Thankfully, Root and Yorkshire fans will remember this Monday in April very fondly as he and Gary Ballance - who finished 101 not out - shared an excellent unbroken third-wicket stand of 253, a Yorkshire record for that particular wicket in matches against Notts.

“If we’re being brutally honest, as a side we were behind the game for the majority of it,” said Root, who was tested out by some short-pitched home bowling from the likes of Broad, Jake Ball, Luke Fletcher and Paul Coughlin.

“Notts played all the cricket and might feel hard done by not to get more out of the game.

“But it showed great character and fight to make sure we did get something. We’ll take that confidence forwards.

“In county cricket, it’s an area which has been missing (testing batsmen out with a series of short balls).

“When you produce a surface like that, it’s great for the development of players.

“You obviously have to be able to look after off stump when it’s doing a bit. But it’s nice to see bowlers exploit a different plan and go short.

“That will be great for the development of the next crop of players just below the England team.”

Yorkshire claimed nine points from this fixture, which boosts their confidence ahead of Thursday’s clash with Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl.

“It’s pleasing to come out of the game with something and to be not out at the end,” said Root.

“If I’m being honest I think I rode my luck on occasions, and credit has to go to Notts.

“I thought Gary played magnificently. He also had to take a bit of a barrage.

“It was a crucial partnership, and it’s a good habit to get into at the start of the year. As a Yorkshire side, we struggled last year with finding ourselves three, four and five down quite early.

“When we lost those two early wickets, it was really important we rebuilt and made it count."