Ben Coad hailed a fine collective Yorkshire bowling display on day one of their Bob Willis Trophy clash with Leicestershire at Emerald Headingley.
Coad’s 5-18 from 13.2 overs on his return from a month out with injury led the way, while Matthew Fisher claimed three wickets and Duanne Olivier two, including a stunning caught and bowled effort.
Yorkshire’s bid for a final round victory to keep alive their hopes of a Lord’s final saw them reach close on 36-2, with rain wiping out the final 28.5 overs of the day.
Coad’s haul included his 150th first-class wicket in his 38th appearance – an impressive milestone but only the start, he says.
“It’s a great achievement to be able to tick that off, but I’m still young and it’s only the start of my career. So there’s still a lot more to get,” he reflected.
“I just want to keep ticking off these milestones and take as many wickets as possible.
“I’m very happy with how I’ve been performing and happy where I’m at with my cricket.”
Coad’s 13.2 overs included six maidens, with Yorkshire bowling 15 maidens in all from 48.2 overs. Their tidiness was a particular feature today.
Coad said: “It’s something we do as a team, and I think we do it very well – bowl in partnerships and try and keep the run-rate as low as possible, around 2.5 runs per over.
“It was a good toss to win and bowl.
“The wicket had a bit of give in it, so it seamed around. We picked a great ball as well, which swung around. It was very favourable.”
On Yorkshire’s bid for top spot in the North Group, which saw Derbyshire lead it by five points ahead of this round of fixtures, Coad added: “I’m not 100 percent sure on the points situation and how many we’ll need to get.
“But we just want to put a big score on the board to drive this game home.
“Hopefully we can get a big partnership with Frainey (Will Fraine) and Lotes (Tom Loten) in the morning.”
Derbyshire are playing Lancashire at Liverpool, with the hosts closing on 206-8.
