BEING left out of England's team for the fifth Ashes Test at Sydney at the start of last year looks to have spurred Joe Root on to great things.

Rooty's award as England's player of the year last week was a deserved acknowledgment of how well he's played and how hard he's worked during the last 12 months.

He would have been massively disappointed to have been left out in Australia but his time away from the game looks to have done him some good. He's regained his place and hasn't looked back.

I've been left out of the Yorkshire team a couple of times during my career and it pushes you.

One time I was left out due to an overflow of players. The other, it was selection. You always feel that you've been wrongly done by when it happens and you want to prove a point.

But most of us openers would say he's gone down into the easy bit of the order now, after starting his career as an opening batsman!

In all seriousness, he's found his place in England's middle order and if he keeps going the way he is, he's there for next five to ten years.

Friday sees England and New Zealand visit Headingley for the second Test, with one of our overseas players at Yorkshire – Kane Williamson – playing for the opposition.

We want all our lads to do well when they play international cricket and Kane's no different. He's a legend in our dressing room – but hopefully he doesn't do too well. I'd be happy if he got a hundred and England won the match.

We are back in County Championship action against Somerset at Taunton this week after missing the last round of fixtures.

Having played and won against Hampshire almost a fortnight ago, perhaps it would have been nice to play again on the back of that. But not playing and having a week off has a silver lining.

It gives our bowlers a bit of time to rest and get ready for the games ahead. It's obviously an extra week for Ryan Sidebottom, who is injured, to continue his rehab' without missing any more cricket.

The white ball has come out now for Twenty20, so the lads are hitting the ball nicely, and hopefully we'll take it into our red-ball game and play some good, positive cricket.

We've got most of our England lads back, which gives the team a good balance.

I don't think the Taunton pitch is quite as good to bat on as it has been in the past. Looking at the scores, it seems to have livened up a little bit.

Somerset have got some good, young seamers now and they will benefit from a little bit more in the pitch. But we're confident of playing well and getting a result.

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