HAVE YOUR SAY: Root gives Yorkshire colleagues credit for his call-up

The Yorkshire batsman is one of three players from the county – Tim Bresnan and Jonny Bairstow are the others – to make the 30-man party for the September tournament.

England’s management will slash that number in half next month when naming their final squad ahead of the tournament getting under way in Sri Lanka.

Whether Root makes the cut remains to be seen but, after learning of his inclusion during Yorkshire’s LV= County Championship match with leaders Derbyshire, he was nevertheless delighted.

“It was slightly surprising to get the call but nice all the same,” said Root, who yesterday could manage only 16 as Yorkshire enjoyed the better of a captivating contest at Chesterfield.

“It is nice to think that they (England) think highly of me. But the only reason I am doing well is because the lads around me are doing brilliantly.

“I think it is easy to be part of a team that is doing well and, hopefully, we can keep doing well.

“I just try to contribute and try to improve all aspects of my game. I feel to have improved at Twenty20.”

Asked about his chances of making the final 15-man squad, Root said: “It is out of my hands and, to be honest, I am not really thinking about it.

“I am just focusing on this game against Derbyshire and then the others we have this week, including the Twenty20 quarter-final (against Worcestershire) next Wednesday.”

Root’s inclusion in the initial squad may have caught the eye in Yorkshire but, on a national level, the widely expected omission of Kevin Pietersen was the main talking point due to it seemingly meaning the end of his limited overs international career.

Pietersen’s representatives had been in talks with the England and Wales Cricket Board in the hope a compromise could be struck following his shock retirement from the shorter forms of the game last month.

The primary aim seemed to be to clear the way for his Twenty20 return as England look to defend their crown but those negotiations proved fruitless.

Also named in the squad was England’s one-day international captain Alastair Cook, former Tykes off-spinner Gareth Batty and Lancashire batsman Steven Croft, the only other uncapped player besides Root.

As for Yorkshire, Root’s call-up was one of several high points for the county on an enthralling first day against the Second Division leaders that was a personal triumph for Steve Harmison.

After hitting a quickfire 23 to ensure Yorkshire reached 219 despite a spectacular batting collapse, the one-time England bowling hero recovered from a wayward opening spell to take three late wickets and put Phil Jaques’s side in control at the close.

Root said: “Steve has worked really hard since coming to us so we are all delighted for him.

“You can see how frustrated he gets if things don’t go right, how much he wants to do well, so it was great for him. The wickets may not have been the most pleasing on the eye but he got them and that is what matters.”

On the balance of the contest, Root added: “The momentum is with us. We were disappointed to finish on 219 but kept going and are now in a fantastic position. Derbyshire started their innings well but our heads didn’t drop and we kept going, which was not a surprise. The pressure is on them.”

Harmison’s dramatic intervention came on a day when, after winning the toss and opting to bat, Jaques led from the front by hitting 61.

Supported ably by Gary Ballance, Jaques was the outstanding batsman before perishing during the amazing collapse that saw the initiative initially swing the way of the hosts.

Five wickets fell for just 10 runs during an awful seven-over spell midway through the afternoon as the leaders dismissed their nearest challengers for 219.

Considering they had at one stage been 175-3, the total seemed distinctly underwhelming with only the stand-in captain and a swift knock of 46 from Ballance meaning the pair emerged with much credit.

In reply, Derbyshire put on a rapid 43 for the first wicket – helped, in the main, by a wayward opening spell from Harmison.

The former England opening bowler was hit for 27 runs in just three overs before being mercifully withdrawn from the attack by Jaques.

Wayne Madsen’s dismissal for 15 briefly slowed Derbyshire down but they had again resumed control only for Yorkshire to hit back in the final 20 overs of the day in startling fashion as six wickets fell.

Three of those were to Harmison in just 11 deliveries for the loss of no runs, underlining the tremendous guts and honesty of the Durham loanee after such a woeful opening burst.

It meant the home side ended the day trailing by 84 runs with three wickets in hand to leave Yorkshire in a promising position ahead of today’s resumption at the picturesque Queen’s Park.

England’s provisional 30-man squad for the ICC World Twenty20 in September:

S Broad (Notts) (capt), J Anderson (Lancashire), J Bairstow (Yorkshire), G Batty (Surrey), I Bell (Warwicks), R Bopara (Essex), S Borthwick (Durham), T Bresnan (Yorkshire), D Briggs (Hampshire), J Buttler (Somerset), A Cook (Essex), S Croft (Lancashire), S Davies (Surrey), J Dernbach (Surrey), S Finn (Middlesex), A Hales (Notts), C Kieswetter (Somerset), M Lumb (Notts), S Meaker (Surrey), E Morgan (Middlesex), G Onions (Durham), S Patel (Notts), M Prior (Sussex), J Root (Yorkshire), B Stokes (Durham), G Swann (Notts), J Taylor (Notts), J Tredwell (Kent), C Woakes (Warwicks), L Wright (Sussex).