Steve Patterson has urged his Yorkshire players to continue being brave as they look to put Sunday’s Vitality Blast defeat to Birmingham behind them.
The Vikings travel to Emirates Riverside on Friday (6.30pm) to tackle a Durham Jets side who they hammered in their North Group opener on Thursday.
They currently have a won one, lost one record having been beaten by the Bears at Edgbaston. It was a clash in which they were outplayed.
However, captain Patterson refused to look too deeply into it given the quality of cricket they had played just a few days earlier.
This is first of two North Group games in three days as the Vikings face leaders Worcestershire at Blackfinch New Road in front of the TV cameras on Sunday afternoon.
“If we play like we did against Durham, that kind of performance will beat any side. We know that,” said the skipper.
“That’s how good we are at our best. There’s plenty more to come.
“I don’t think you can over-analyse it too much and say ‘We should be better at this or we should be better at that’.
“At the end of the day, in T20, you have to be brave and play with confidence and belief. It worked on Thursday and not on Sunday. We just have to stay calm, confident and keep believing in ourselves.”
Given Yorkshire’s postponement of tomorrow’s (WEDNESDAY) meeting with Derbyshire at Emerald Headingley in order to avoid a clash with England’s World Cup football semi-final against Croatia, it means they have a pretty friendly schedule over the next week and a half.
They face Durham and then Worcestershire before another gap ahead of the Roses at Emirates Old Trafford a week on Friday, when all of their internationals and overseas will be available.
“It certainly allows us a bit of time to practice and continue to work on our skills,” said Patterson, who bemoaned the loss of early wickets on Sunday.
“The first game to Sunday – we batted first in both, got 200 in the first and were short of 160 in the second.
“We were two or three down with two or three overs to go against Durham. It allowed us to play with freedom. At Edgbaston, we didn’t have that opportunity. We were three down in four or five overs and four down in six or seven.
“It’s very difficult to continue going hard and taking risks.”
Yorkshire and Durham will go into the game with identical records.
After losing to Yorkshire, the Jets bounced back on Friday to beat Leicestershire at Grace Road as they comfortably defended a target of 154. South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir starred with 4-14.
One significant positive so far has been Harry Brook, who hit 44 against Durham and 20 at Birmingham in swashbuckling fashion.
Batting at number three, the 19-year-old has shown significant promise in his first two T20 career appearances, with seamer Jack Brooks adding: “Harry’s your modern batter. He’s got a no fear approach.
“He’s not just a powerful hitter, he’s a skilful player who knows how to make big scores, as he has done in all formats at all his age-groups.
“He’s very exciting and has all the shots.
“It’s just a case of when you’re young, you have to pick the right times to use them. If he comes off, he’ll get runs quickly, which is perfect for what we need.
“Number three isn’t an easy position to bat in T20 cricket. He showed his promise first game and hit some nice shots (at Birmingham).”
