Barkby cricketer Tom Flowers joins forces with Joe Root

Tom Flowers (left) with England skipper Joe Root and lead coach Ben Silver at Lord's EMN-190613-123301002

Barkby United cricketer Tom Flowers has teamed up with England Test captain Joe Root to help develop grassroots cricket in the Midlands.

Earlier this year, Tom Flowers Cricket Coaching was chosen as one of only eight-UK based development hubs for the Root Academy, set up by the Yorkshire batsman.

Flowers, who coaches the England Learning Disability team, set up his own coaching business almost four years ago and holds camps and academies at cricket clubs throughout the county.

He got the chance to meet Root at Lord’s earlier this summer for the launch of the Root Academy App.

Tom said: “On the new App we will be able to provide content on our camps and academies to our players, but also deliver online video analysis and one-to-one lessons.”

Tom Flowers Cricket Coaching has also been asked to enter a team for the first-ever Root Academy T20 Under 15s tournament in the exclusive Desert Springs cricket resort in southern Spain later this year.

The tournament runs from October 30 to November 3, with places limited, as TFCC is teaming up with The Cornish Cricket Company to enter a side.

Deposits of £175 must be paid by June 30 to guarantee a place on the trip, with further payments to be made during the summer.

The whole trip costs £695, discounted from £995 for TFCC as a Root Academy Hub.