Fast bowler Ben Cliff is targeting more first-team exposure in 2025 after a progressive summer last year and a hard-working winter of club cricket in Melbourne.
Cliff is in Abu Dhabi with his Yorkshire team-mates and the coaching staff, on the club’s pre-season tour, and has been preparing for the first of five match days today.
The White Rose are tackling the Abu Dhabi Counties Super Cup T20 competition this weekend. They play a game a day, including a potential final on Sunday afternoon. First up today are Essex at 2.30pm UK time. All matches will be live-streamed via styxsports.com.
Halifax-born Cliff, 22, produced the standout performance of his embryonic senior career in that format last year – 4-31 in the final round Vitality Blast group stage defeat against Nottinghamshire at Headingley in mid-July.
Since debuting in 2022, he has played all formats of first-team cricket for Yorkshire; 20 wickets in 15 appearances in all. Sixteen of those came last year in the Blast and Metro Bank One-Day Cup.
He said: “It was a great experience to be involved in the T20s last year, especially.
“I absolutely loved it, and it’s definitely something I want to do more of.
“It gave me a lot of confidence going into the back end of the summer and the winter with Greenvale.
“Looking back on last year, I can definitely say, ‘That was my best so far’. I just want to build on that this year.
“When you play, you have to take your chance, do well and enjoy the experience. As I say, I want to do more of that and solidify a place in the team.”
Cliff spent his winter in the Victorian Premier Cricket competition with Greenvale Kangaroos. Will Luxton played for the same team, while Harry Duke was close by with Essendon.
In 13 matches, he claimed 15 wickets with a best of 3-37.
“The cricket was good but hard work,” he said. “It’s been nice to carry on playing cricket through the winter, and something a bit different. It was a good time and really beneficial.
“There were a lot of flat decks, and they didn’t offer as much for seamers as I’d have liked. But it’s better than rocking up on green nippers and getting six-for every week. You have to bend your back and find different ways to get wickets, which is obviously beneficial.
“It definitely feels like I’m in a good place, and myself and Will are both fresh and ready to go for the start of the season.”
