Friday 6 May 2016 08:05, UK
England batsman Joe Root has signed a new contract with Yorkshire that will keep him at Headingley until December 2019.
The 25-year-old, currently ranked the No 2 Test batsman in the world, will play his final County Championship match on Sunday against Surrey before joining up with England ahead of the Investec First Test against Sri Lanka at Headingley on May 19.
Born in Sheffield, Root made his Yorkshire debut in 2007, with his England Test debut following in December 2012. He has since played 39 Tests, scoring 3,406 runs at 54.93, while he also winning 88 one-day caps.
"I'm delighted to be committing my future to Yorkshire," Root told the county's website.
"Even though I don't play as much as I would like for Yorkshire these days due to my international commitments, I still get a huge buzz wearing the white rose on my cap and representing my county. I couldn't see myself playing cricket for any other county.
"Yorkshire have given me a great education and foundation as a cricketer and without the support of the players and coaches at Headingley, I wouldn't be in the position I'm in today with England.
"The club have a huge summer ahead looking to be crowned County Champions for a third successive year and I wish the lads every success in the world in trying to achieve their dreams. It would be a monumental effort."
Yorkshire director of cricket Martyn Moxon is delighted the right-hander has committed his long-term future to the club.
"He has made tremendous strides over the past few years on the international scene and is now up there amongst best players in the world," he said.
"Even though we don't see him representing Yorkshire that often, when he does play he brings experience, energy and skill to the side. We saw that only this week at Trent Bridge in our match against Notts. I hope he can sign off with us with a big performance against Surrey at Headingley on Sunday.
"He is maturing into a world-class player and I am sure he will continue to achieve everything he wants starting this summer for England against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. We'll all be watching on hoping he and the other Yorkshire lads succeed."
