Rookie Root calls former captain Vaughan ‘mentor’

London: England batsman Joe Root, who has dreamed of playing for the national team since the age of three, has said former Test captain Michael Vaughan’s advice has helped him throughout his young career so far.

Root, who scored an assured 73 on his Test debut against India in Nagpur on Friday, first strapped on his pads at Sheffield Collegiate, which is the same club as Vaughan. Now, Root has followed the same path as Vaughan through club cricket, Yorkshire and finally to England. Root’s proud parents Matt and Helen watched every ball of their son’s maiden innings on TV and tweeted photos of their son holding a bat when he was little more than a toddler. “Those pictures show I have been dreaming about this opportunity for a very long time,” the Sun quoted Root, as saying. “Michael Vaughan played in the same side as my dad so I’d go with my brother as a youngster and knock up on the side of the pitch,” he added. “Michael has given me advice over the years but in recent times has let me get on with it. Still, it’s always been nice to have someone to look up to and go through the same route,” he said. Vaughan gave Root a chest guard a couple of years ago although there was no need for it on the slow, low pitch in Nagpur. Root added: “It’s a shame I missed out on a century because that is the sort of thing you dream about as a kid. It just makes me more determined to go on to a big score in the future.” ANI