Shan Masood has urged his Yorkshire team to be more clinical with bat and ball after seeing their dominant position against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road eroded late on day two.
The county’s captain admitted to frustration after seeing his opposition skipper, Luke Procter, hit a superb and determined 116 not out to lead his side’s recovery from 181-7 to 301 all out in reply to Yorkshire’s first-innings 362.
Just before tea, Yorkshire were in with a chance of potentially making the hosts follow on.
However, they ended the day on 0-1 in their second innings with a lead of only 61.
Make no mistake, Yorkshire are still in a decent position, and Masood knows it. But he knows full well, things could have been much brighter for the visiting side.
“I think we’ve only got ourselves to blame. We had quite a lot of chances,” he said.
“Procter played really well, but in his early thirties we missed a chance in the slips. Then, 180 runs ahead with the tail to follow, they get 120 runs. That’s something we should hold ourselves accountable for.
“At the start, it was a bit like (the first innings at) Sussex, where we leaked too many runs. The wicket had a lot on offer even with the heavy roller. Them getting off at five-an-over is too much.
“It should be much easier, where we’re leading by 120 or 150 and we’re really driving the game tomorrow.
“It’s not that, but we still have two days left in the game and we can’t just think about what has happened. What’s happened has happened. There has been a lot of good stuff that we’ve done, but we just weren’t clinical enough.”
Continuing his reflections on the day, the Pakistan batter said: “We dragged that start back really well and got into a valuable position.
“The bowlers bowled well to get us there (before the frustration at the end).
“Now it’s up to us with two days to go.
“We have to drive the game and really push for a result here. It will take some good batting and a monumental bowling performance in the fourth innings.”
Expanding on his wish to see Yorkshire develop a ruthless streak, he said:
“It’s about making things a bit easier for ourselves, and that’s what we didn’t do at Sussex.
“We could have easily been chasing 100-120 runs there and we ended up chasing 180.
“This is a thing the side must learn and grow into.
“In professional cricket, when there’s a lot at stake, other teams will come and fight like Sussex did and Northamptonshire today with Procter. He hung on and hung on, and it’s a serious knock.
“When we’re on top of the game, we must be clinical and have the same intensity to finish an innings – whether that’s with the bat or the ball.”
Masood’s fellow overseas player, Vishwa Fernando, the Sri Lankan Test fast bowler, finished with 4-48 – the pick of Yorkshire’s bowlers.
“He bowled really nicely,” added Masood.
“I think he has a lot of assets to play this level of cricket.
“In these conditions, he’s quite a handful. He can swing the ball and has decent pace to unsettle batsmen – he also nibbles it off the deck.
“A left-arm angle is always good in a side. That’s what we tried last year when we signed Wagner and he couldn’t come. I’m happy Vishwa is available for this and at least the next two games.”
