Andrew Gale bemoaned Yorkshire’s defeat against Surrey at Scarborough, admitting the visitors fightback “almost feels like the last gasp winner against you in a football game”.
Surrey won by seven wickets chasing 228 to secure their fifth win from seven Specsavers County Championship matches and strengthen their grip on top spot in Division One.
Unfortunately for Yorkshire, who led by 75 runs on first innings before being bowled out for 152 in their second, they now sit second-bottom in the table with two wins, two draws and three defeats.
They claimed six points from this match and are four points behind Hampshire and three behind Lancashire directly above them.
They play Lancashire next at Emirates Old Trafford on July 22 – the first of the two Roses clashes this summer.
For Surrey, Rory Burns top-scored in the chase with 97 and Scott Borthwick chipped in with 62. The visitors started day four on 89-0.
Coach Gale said: “A bad hour in the third innings of the game has cost us (42-4 before lunch on day three).
“You go into the second innings with a 75-run lead, two blokes have got to put their hands up and get a couple of partnerships. If we’d set 300 plus, it’s a tough chase.
“They chased them down reasonably comfortably in the end, but it’s a different pressure when you’re chasing over 300.
“Surrey are a good team. That’s why they are top of the league. But we were in a position there to take the game away from them.
“A couple of partnerships and you are 100-2, it’s likely to get to the stage where they’re waiting for a declaration. There’s only two results possible in the game then.
“Just when we thought we were making strides forward with our last three innings (batting), it’s just crept back in. Whether it’s down to pressure or complacency, I’m not sure.
“It’s disappointing, especially from the overseas and the senior boys. Someone like Harry Brook is going to be inconsistent, we know that. But someone has to stand up and soak the pressure up.
“It’s disappointing. I knew the last two weeks would be difficult given the call-ups we’ve had, but we were in a position to win that game.”
On the positives from this week, Gale said: “I thought we stuck at the task well in the first innings with the bat to get to 350.
“Everyone contributed, particularly down the order.
“I thought the bowling, the 10 overs after the new ball, was outstanding and relentless. To get a 75-run lead was outstanding. But, as soon as we came out in the second innings with the bat, we were poor.
“For two and a half days, we’ve outplayed top of the league.
“We know what it takes to win Championships, and they’ve fought their way back.
“Their bowling in the second innings was good.
“If you want to win trophies and compete with the top teams, you have to be ruthless – and we weren’t.”
And on Yorkshire’s position in the table, Gale added: “It’s still early days. We’re only at the halfway point.
“We’ve been inconsistent, we know that. But I don’t feel we’re a million miles away.
“We have some key players coming back, the next game is at Old Trafford – it will be big for us.
“Kane Williamson will be in for that, we’ll have Dave Willey back, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Matthew Fisher. This team will look slightly different.”
