Joe Root hits unbeaten century as Yorkshire draw at Nottinghamshire

England Test captain Joe Root scored an unbeaten century as Yorkshire drew their Division One opener against Nottinghamshire.

The 28-year-old, who was stuck on the helmet by Stuart Broad’s opening short delivery, added to his first-innings score of 73 at the Trent Bridge crease as his side battled back to claim a draw.

Root spent almost ten minutes on the deck receiving treatment following the blow to his head, but put it down to the importance of checking players’ welfare following head injuries.

“You’ve got to make sure you know what day of the week it is and everything so it was just making sure you tick the boxes and for the physio to make sure there was no danger,” he said.

“The only thing that was really hurting was my ego, letting Stuart hit me like that.”

Root (130 not out) and Gary Ballance (101 not out) led Yorkshire to 277-2. Notts’ declared score of 329-5 left Joe Clarke three runs shy of his second century in the match, leaving Yorkshire a target of 447 to win.

The visitors suffered early on, however, as Jake Ball dismissed both Yorkshire openers in the morning session.

Root and Ballance entered the frame with Yorkshire at 24-2 and shared a third-wicket stand of over 250 as they revived the White Roses’ hopes.

Yorkshire head coach Andrew Gale insisted that despite the early losses, he was confident of Yorkshire achieving something from the fixture.

“Even when Adam Lyth got out [at 24-2] there was still a nice, relaxed feel about us. I think there’s a lot of maturity now, whereas in previous years we would’ve panicked.

“Gary Ballance and Joe Root are two world class international performers that have shown all of their skill under pressure and that just settles the rest of the lads down.

“The question is can we do that when Rooty disappears for the rest of the season? It was a huge partnership and if we’re going to win games in Division One we need to do that in the first innings.”

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