By Matthew Fisher
The plan is for me to be ready for selection in first-team cricket by the end of May following by back and thumb injuries, although we haven’t got a specific game in mind or anything like that.
I have been back playing for a couple of weeks now, both for Yorkshire seconds and Sheriff Hutton Bridge.
I played in a second-team three-day game last week and bowled five overs. The plan was to bowl 12, but it rained on the last day when I would have bowled again.
That’s not an issue. I still got enough time in the middle to feel confident that things are heading in the right direction.
There’s a lot of cricket coming up – three weeks of back-to-back three-dayers and one-dayers with the seconds, starting at Durham this week, and I’ll be managed through them. At the end of the day, I just need confidence in my body, game and performance.
Managing the volume is important. I may get 20-25 overs in one week, then 35 the next and then have a quieter week afterwards to make sure you’re fresh if required.
I’ve spoken to Andrew Gale, and the plan is to have got all of that by the end of May and then he can say, ‘Fish is ready’. But, as I’ve just mentioned, there are things like rain to consider.
For me, in the first team this year, it’s about quality over quantity. Whatever game I play, I want to do it at 100 percent.
We spoke about the end of May being a target because the lads will have bowled quite a bit with two County Championship games coming up before the end of May.
Realistically, in my eyes, we’ll have had two good results in those games, meaning the team won’t change too much. Then the thought is that those bowlers will have had a lot of cricket under their belts, and I could be there to freshen it up.
My main focus is trying to contribute to us winning a trophy, and there’s no reason why that can’t be in the Championship.
Rewind to January or February, and you probably wouldn’t have heard me or many of the other lads say that. But a couple of things have happened since then to boost our confidence.
The signing of Duanne Olivier is one and the two results to start with at Notts and Hampshire is another.
Without the signing of Duanne, we were a bit unknown. All the bowlers would perhaps admit we were a bit short. But that Test quality bowler who has done really well recently was a real confidence booster to everyone.
The way that we’re backing our batsmen is also a big thing.
I know as player that when you get fully backed, and they are good enough, then performances come from that.
When the club didn’t sign an overseas player, it must have settled the batsmen. They would probably have thought, ‘Right, this is me. If I perform well, I’ll get a decent run’.
If you sign an overseas, there is the chance you could play well and still not get selected, which is frustrating.
We probably did need an overseas last season, but now lads have got more games behind them. Harry Brook is the prime example. He should be consistent now, but last year he was the new kid on the block.
The thing about our four-day team now is that we have a good blend of youth and experience.
The experienced lads like Steve Patterson, Tim Bresnan, Gary Ballance and Adam Lyth know how to win, with the back-to-back Championships in 2014 and 2015. And the younger lads have had a taste of first-team cricket.
We aren’t favourites by any stretch. But that quite suits us. We can put the pressure on from beneath. I’m sure the momentum ball can roll if we have a good end to the month. It could be a really exciting summer.
In terms of the Royal London one-dayers, I have only seen bits of games here and there. But from what the lads say, it’s just been a case that we’ve played well and haven’t been able to get over the line.
It’s a bit of luck here and there and not being ruthless enough to nail the key moments that’s cost us a place in the quarter-finals.
England started their summer over the weekend, and while I see them as favourites for the World Cup, they will definitely have plenty of challengers. There’s a lot of good teams coming over here.
Just because of a couple of injuries or what’s happened with Alex Hales, it doesn’t make you a bad team overnight.
I certainly can’t remember us having this amount of confidence in a team going into a World Cup.
It’s just about handling the pressure of the big game, a semi-final or a final when four years of hard work comes down to one game. That’s pretty high pressure!
We’re definitely good enough to win it, so it’s just about handling that extra element.
The way Eoin Morgan is, I’m sure they’ll be fine. You just never see him crack. Watch him in interviews or on the field, he always has the same composed outlook.
