Yorkshire's England legacy: The White Rose cricketers Joe Root follows into captaincy

Joe Root has succeeded Alastair Cook as England Test captain and becomes the sixth Yorkshire player in the post-war era to be given the honour.
England have announced Joe Root as their new Test captain . (Picture: Adam Davy/PA Wire).England have announced Joe Root as their new Test captain . (Picture: Adam Davy/PA Wire).
England have announced Joe Root as their new Test captain . (Picture: Adam Davy/PA Wire).

Root follows in the footsteps of Norman Yardley, Len Hutton, Brian Close, Geoffrey Boycott and Michael Vaughan.

Here, we assess how well his county predecessors fared:

NORMAN YARDLEY (1947-50 - Tests 14, Won 4, Lost 7, Drew 3)

Stepped into the breach when Wally Hammond was unavailable for the final Test of the 1946-47 Ashes in Sydney and took charge of England’s next two home series with mixed results - a 3-0 home win over South Africa in 1947 followed by a 4-0 defeat to Don Bradman’s ‘Invincibles’ the following summer. An intermittent England captain, he also presided over West Indies’ first win on English soil - at Lord’s in June 1950, with that series marking his last as captain and player.

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LEN HUTTON (1952-55 - Tests 23, Won 11, Lost 4, Drew 8)

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Widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time, Hutton proved an astute leader after becoming England’s first professional captain. Won back-to-back Ashes contests and England were only bested in a series by Pakistan under his stewardship. He relinquished the role in 1955 due to ill health.

BRIAN CLOSE (1966-67 - Tests 7 Won 6, Lost 0, Drew 1)

Close instilled typical Yorkshire grit when he was parachuted in to halt a Gary Sobers-inspired West Indies as England claimed a consolation win before he presided over series victories against India and Pakistan. Despite his remarkable success, the all-rounder was jettisoned after it was thought he used stalling tactics during a county game against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.

GEOFFREY BOYCOTT (1978 - Tests 4, Won 1, Lost 1, Drew 2)

Another whose batting pedigree is not in doubt, Boycott took charge of England for the final Test against Pakistan in January 1978 and the following tour to New Zealand due to Mike Brearley’s broken arm. The most notable moment of his captaincy came against the Black Caps when he was deliberately run out by Ian Botham as a result of his slow run-rate. Brearley was back in the post by the summer of 1978.

MICHAEL VAUGHAN (2003-08 - Tests 51, Won 26, Lost 11, Drew 14)

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The only one of the sextet not born in the county - he hails from Greater Manchester - though not many would doubt that Vaughan is Yorkshire through and through. Numerically England’s greatest captain - no other Englishman has won more games as skipper - while his ingenuity went a long way to deciding the seminal Ashes 2005 series. Injuries dimmed his star as a batsman and he resigned in tears after a series defeat to South Africa.

:: Ray Illingworth had two spells at home county Yorkshire - 1951-68 and 1982-83 - but his time as England captain spanned from 1969-73, when he was at Leicestershire.

RAY ILLINGWORTH (1969-73 - Tests 31, Won 12, Lost 5, Drew 14)

A shrewd character who expected the utmost professionalism from his players, Illingworth, an off-spinning all-rounder, boasted of series wins over West Indies, New Zealand and Australia in his first two years in charge. Results tailed off, though, and his reign ended on a low note, beaten handily by the Windies.