Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Erin Thomas attacks against Glamorgan yesterday en-route to a superb career best 62 not out.
Yorkshire have conquered the Metro Bank One-Day Cup. Or should that be conkered? Opening batter Erin Thomas certainly thinks so.
In yesterday’s final win over Glamorgan, England Under 19s star Thomas hit a blistering career best 62 not out off 32 balls as the White Rose made light work of a 20-over chase of 128, winning by nine wickets inside 12 overs.
Talented Thomas, 19, endured a frustrating start to the summer, getting plenty of starts without being able to go on.
However, she has ended the season impressively with two fifties in her last three innings. In those three innings, against Kent in the must win last group game, the semi-final against Middlesex and yesterday’s final, she has posted scores of 54, 38 and 62 not out.
Following her crucial run of form, Thomas has credited the influence of former Yorkshire men’s batter and coach Kevin Sharp, who has been with the women’s squad for approximately the last six weeks as a consultant coach.
And she has revealed a left-field method of motivation which has worked wonders.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Kevin Sharp was helping out with coaching duties at New Road yesterday and has been for the last six weeks or so.
“The start of the summer, I didn’t do as well as I wanted to,” said Drax product Thomas. “But we brought our new coach Kevin Sharp in, and he’s honestly transformed my game.
“I did a lot of mental work with him, and he’s just given me the confidence I needed. Having that person to go to and confide in about my batting has helped me and given me the confidence to kick on at this back end of the season.”
As Thomas spoke at Visit Worcestershire New Road amidst the post-match celebrations, she did so with a conker in her hand.
She laughed: “Well, basically, we have this thing where he says, ‘Right, you have to pick a tree on the ground and look at the aura coming off it’.
“It sounds a bit silly, but I was starting to get a bit anxious mid-season and doing that has helped me breathe and calm down (on game day). It’s something I’ve been doing.
“When we came here, I picked out a tree and thought, ‘That’s a nice one’. And it had conkers on it.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Hannah Rainey congratulates opener Erin Thomas following yesterday’s 62 not out.
“Kevin made a bit of a dad joke and said, ‘Right, we’re going to conker the day’.
“So we picked up 15 conkers and gave one to each of the players and coaches so we could ‘conker the game’.
“It’s good to have some light-hearted stuff. He’s s funny guy, and it’s built morale in the team. We really respect him.”
And how long will that conker last. Long enough to be a lucky charm for next year’s Tier 1 campaign, maybe?
Thomas said: “I need to put it in some sort of resin. It’s like a godly conker now. I can’t lose it!”
Reflecting on the day at New Road more generally and the title triumph,” she continued: “It was a great day.
Picture by YCCC. Erin Thomas shows off her lucky conker during her post-match interview with the Yorkshire CCC media team.
“It’s something we’ve been working towards all season.
“Obviously not getting there in the T20 final wasn’t ideal, but we’ve worked really hard. The year we’ve had as a team, coming together, I’ve loved it.
“Everyone’s worked so well together, and the achievements we’ve made coming from a number of us not even knowing each other to winning a final, I think we’ve done really well. I’m very proud of our team.”
Olivia Thomas stood out with the ball, claiming 3-14 from four overs of leg-spin to limit Glamorgan to 127-5. And she was handed the player-of-the-match award.
But the 127 opening stand between Erin and captain Lauren Winfield-Hill, who also made 62, was sensational.
“Not too bad!” said Thomas.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Lauren Winfield-Hill and Erin Thomas shared 127 for the first wicket at New Road yesterday.
“It was a bit of a shaky start, but I thought, ‘I’m going to lock in and try and get some runs here’. It’s really good having Loz at the other end. She’s an experienced player, and I’ve learnt a lot from her all season.
“It takes a bit of luck but a lot of hard work.
“I came off in that innings, and a lot of people have come off throughout the season.
It’s great credit to the team, and I’m very grateful that it was me on the day.”
And Yorkshire now head into Tier 1 hoping to shine. Thomas is confident they can.
She added: “We can take this confidence into next season. We know with the team we’ve got, we can really compete in Tier 1. All the work we’ve been doing this year has been for Tier 1, and we can’t wait to go and show them what we’ve got.”
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Yorkshire’s other Thomas – Olivia, no relation to Erin – was sensational with the ball yesterday, retiring 3-14 from four overs of leg-spin.
