Root announces retirement, but it is not Joe

England cricket fans may have been momentarily alarmed by the announcement of 'Root retires', only to realize that it was not Joe Root who would be hanging up his boots. Instead, it was his younger brother Billy Root who announced his retirement from professional cricket at the conclusion of the 2026 season, marking the end of a 14-year stint in the county game. At 34, Billy is only slightly younger than Joe, who is 35 and still actively playing for England.

While Billy is bidding farewell to the sport, Joe continues to make history on the field. Earlier this month, Joe surpassed Sachin Tendulkar's record of 68 Test fifties, scoring his 69th against Pakistan. Furthermore, this week, Joe reached the milestone of 23,000 international runs in 521 innings, just one inning ahead of Tendulkar's record. Joe's goal is to surpass Tendulkar's all-time record of 15,921 Test runs, a feat he currently trails by 1,643 runs. To achieve this, Joe needs to score an additional 1,644 runs.

Meanwhile, Billy has had a commendable career of his own. The left-handed batter began his journey with Nottinghamshire before joining Glamorgan in 2019. Over the course of 83 first-class matches, Billy scored 4,107 runs at an impressive average of 32.08, including seven centuries and a career-best score of 229. He played a crucial role in Glamorgan's recent white-ball success, including their One Day Cup triumph in 2024.

Despite his efforts, Billy's opportunities have dwindled this season, making only two County Championship appearances and also captaining Glamorgan's second XI. As a result, the decision to retire was a relief for him. In a statement, Billy expressed, "It has been an absolute privilege to represent Nottinghamshire and Glamorgan and share in four trophy wins during my career."