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James Wharton is a young Yorkshireman who has barely entered his professional career with the White Rose but has already shown strokes of brilliance. Often mistaken as England Test captain Joe Root, thanks to their similarity at the crease. His main role has been opening, just like his Yorkshire teammate, Wharton is no stranger to bat for long hours. Born in Huddersfield, the youngster first represented Yorkshire at Under 14s, in 2014. With time, his progress has scaled up as he went to play at Under 15s, 16s and 17s, and then debuted for the Academy in 2017, before playing for the second team in 2018. In a Second XI game, the stylish batter scored a blistering 162 in a friendly against Leicestershire in 2018. He has also captained the Academy side in 2018-19. The Huddersfield-born was rewarded with a rookie contract ahead of 2020, a Yorkshire debut wasn’t too far. He was handed his maiden first-team opportunity during the 2020 T20 Blast when he debuted against Lancashire. Wharton played two games that season in the lower middle-order, before breaking his finger. If one looks at his number, the youngster has shown a lot of grit and determination, which shows some encouraging signs for Yorkshire and England cricket. If that trend continues, Wharton may well get to play alongside his batting lookalike in an England shirt one day. (As of July 2021)
