There are permutations aplenty as the Vitality Blast North Group draws to a conclusion and the race for quarter-final qualification hots up.
But Tom Kohler-Cadmore insists the only one that matters is Yorkshire winning two from two to qualify.
The Vikings head into Thursday’s clash with out of contention Northamptonshire at Wantage Road knowing that if they win that and beat fellow challengers Nottinghamshire at Emerald Headingley on Friday, they will jump back into the top four places and advance to the knockout stages.
There are ways they could win just one of those and go through or win one and go out.
Given Notts currently occupy fourth place and are two points clear of Yorkshire, who have a game in hand on them, Friday’s clash is key to their hopes.
If they lose that game, even with a win at Northants, the Vikings would find it hard to qualify.
“It’s the business end of the competition, and you’re always under pressure,” said England Lions opening batsman Kohler-Cadmore.
“We’ve just got to go and look after ourselves and win two from two.
“If we play our best cricket, we’ll win. We just have to make sure we’re focused on that rather than other teams elsewhere.”
Unfortunately, Yorkshire’s hopes of qualification were dented by back-to-back defeats against Lancashire and Notts last Thursday and Friday, dropping them out of the top four places.
“It was frustrating,” continued the ex-Worcestershire man, who hit a half-century against Notts at Trent Bridge.
“They were two big games against Lancashire and Notts, and we wanted to win them both “But it’s T20 cricket at the end of the day, and we’ve got to pick ourselves up and go again to try and put things right.
“Notts just played a better game of cricket than us, both with the bat and the ball.
“Jake Libby and Tom Moores played brilliantly in the middle of their innings. With the ball, they mixed it up and put a lot of pressure on us.
“We have to learn from that game.
“My innings was pointless. I don’t look at myself (in terms of runs). All I want to do is win games for Yorkshire. They were wasted runs in my opinion.”
Confidence remains high for Kohler-Cadmore and his team-mates, however, given they have previous experience in this campaign of suffering two successive defeats and then bouncing back to win the next two.
“We lost two in a row against Derby a couple of weeks ago and then won the next two (against Leicestershire and Northants),” he said. “It can very quickly change in T20 cricket.
“What happened last week is done now. It’s in the past. We can’t dwell on it.”
Two-time champions Northants sit bottom of the group with only one win from 12 matches, including 10 defeats.
“They are still going to be a dangerous side,” added Kohler-Cadmore. “We have to respect them.”
Team News
Yorkshire will assess Kane Williamson’s fitness in the build-up to Thursday’s clash after the batsman bruised a finger on his left-hand whilst taking a catch last Friday night.
The New Zealand captain has avoided a broken left ring finger having taken a knock in the field at Trent Bridge, but there is some bone damage.
Liam Plunkett has been named in the squad and could also return from a hip injury. However, Club Captain Steve Patterson remains sidelined with a broken finger on his left-hand which could keep him out for the next four to six weeks. David Willey will continue to captain the side.
14-man squad to take on Northants Steelbacks
Gary Ballance
Tim Bresnan
Harry Brook
Jack Brooks
Karl Carver
Matthew Fisher
Tom Kohler-Cadmore
Jack Leaning
Adam Lyth
Liam Plunkett
Jonny Tattersall (Wicketkeeper)
Jordan Thompson
Kane Williamson
David Willey (Captain)
PERMUTATIONS
Yorkshire will qualify for the quarter-finals with two wins.
Yorkshire can qualify with a defeat against Northants and a win over Notts, but then it comes down to net run-rate, which is in Notts’ favour at present.
Yorkshire would fail to qualify if they lose to Notts.
Yorkshire can qualify with a win over Northants and a tie or No Result against Notts, but then it comes down to net run-rate.
Yorkshire would fail to qualify with a defeat at Northants and victory over Notts, if Birmingham Bears win their last two matches against Lancashire on Wednesday and Worcestershire on Friday.
Match Statistics
- Northamptonshire is the only county against which Yorkshire have a better T20 record away (won three, lost one, tied one) than they have at home (won three, lost three)..
- Yorkshire have won each of the last four completed T20 matches between these two sides.
- Yorkshire’s highest T20 total (260 for four) and its highest T20 individual innings (Adam Lyth’s 161) were both scored against Northamptonshire – at Headingley in 2017.
- Yorkshire have twice scored over 200 in a T20 match against Northamptonshire – both at Headingley – but their opponents’ highest total is 180 for five at Northampton in 2010.
- Two Yorkshire batsmen (Lyth and Herschelle Gibbs) have scored T20 centuries against Northamptonshire but the highest individual innings by their opponents is 76 by Richard Levi at Northampton in 2014.
Vitality Blast statistics
Vitality Blast standings
The Opposition
T20 record: 4 Finals Day appearances
2009: SF
2013: W
2015: F
2016: W
Last season: 6th
Captain: Alex Wakely
Overseas Players: Rory Kleinveldt (SA), Seekkuge Prasanna (SL)
