By Graham Hardcastle
Adam Lyth is set for a busy 2020 having been awarded a testimonial year by the White Rose county, which will run alongside his commitments with Yorkshire and the Northern Superchargers.
Having developed his game in the white ball formats over the past four or five years, Lyth is now one of the most sought-after batsmen in the English game, and has now had a taste of franchise cricket playing in the Abu Dhabi T10 last month.
He was a winner with the Maratha Arabians alongside fellow Supercharger Chris Lynn, the powerful Australian who was named player of the tournament following a sensational haul of 371 runs from eight innings at an average of 53.
Lynn hit four half-centuries, including scores of 91 not out and 89, whilst Lyth made one fifty on his way to 165 runs in the tournament.
“I absolutely loved my time away,” said left-handed Lyth.
“It was only a short tournament with the games coming thick and fast.
“I didn’t get off to the greatest of starts, getting out the first ball of the tournament. But after that it went well on a personal note and extremely well for the team.
“It was nice to find some form. In T10, you do get to give yourself a bit of time even though it’s only two or three balls. Then it’s about picking your areas and trying to hit boundaries. If you can’t do that, you need to limit the dot balls and get off strike.
“Luckily, most of the time I was batting I had Chris (Lynn) at the other end, and he was in some extremely good form.
Yorkshireman Lyth will line-up alongside big hitter Lynn in the first edition of The Hundred, after the pair were selected by Darren Lehmann in October’s draft.
“I can’t wait to bat alongside him and Aaron Finch for the Superchargers,” Lyth continued.
“If he’s in anywhere near that sort of form, we’re going to be in for some entertaining nights at Headingley.”
Lyth opened the batting in Abu Dhabi, whilst also batting three and four in the Maratha order.
“My strength is opening the batting against the white ball, which I’ve done for Yorkshire for the last however many years and had a lot of success,” said Lyth.
“But when you come into different tournaments, more often than not there are better players than you or ones who are just as good who fit into the same role.
“It’s just about fitting into different scenarios, and it was pleasing to have contributions outside of my usual role. That gives me confidence moving forwards.”
Lyth hailed Lynn as an “incredible” talent: “All I can say is if you’re in the crowd at Headingley, see if you can get hold of a hard hat!” he quipped.
“We spent quite a bit of time off the field together, and he’s really excited. He only plays one-day cricket, and he can’t wait to come over and play in The Hundred.”
