Ottis Gibson is hoping Yorkshire can mix progression with performance in the forthcoming Metro Bank One-Day Cup, which starts this week.
The Vikings face Surrey at the Kia Oval on Thursday in their opening match.
As he has done in the last two seasons, coach Gibson will continue to give youngsters their chance as county cricket’s third and final competition of the summer gets underway.
Seven players are unavailable because of the Hundred, namely Bairstow, Brook, Lyth, Malan, Rashid, Root and Thompson, meaning some new names might be blooded.
“There’s a plan to get Noah Kelly, who has just signed a rookie contract, involved at some stage,” said Gibson. “There’s also a plan in place to get young Alex Wade involved as well. He’s a 17-year-old young fast bowler on our Academy.”
Captain Shan Masood will start the eight-game group stage but not finish it due to Test Match commitments with Pakistan at home to Bangladesh.
“Shan is available for some of the games before he goes back to Pakistan,” confirmed the coach. “I think he’s here until the beginning of August, so he’s got quite a few he can play.
Since the advent of the Hundred, which started in 2021, this competition has had a different look about it, with more fringe players and youngsters across the counties getting their chance.
Yorkshire, who beat Shropshire in a friendly at Wellington yesterday, reached the quarter-final stage in 2021 but have missed out on knockout cricket in each of the last two years. Last year, they won two, lost four and had two rained off.
Gibson is confident of better this time: “We try to use this as a development competition, which we’ve done for the three years I’ve been here,” he said.
“I want to give the likes of Will Luxton and those guys a real good opportunity to go and bat in good positions, make big runs and hundreds and advance their careers.
“I was so proud of him when he made that hundred against the West Indies in that warm-up game (in early July). That was fantastic for him.
“Others like James Wharton and Finlay Bean have been in good form. Those guys, I’m looking forward to watching them play in this competition.
“I have spoken to Coady already and said, ‘We’re not going to play you in every game’. But it’s important that we keep him ticking over so that when the red ball comes along, he’s in a good place.”
Despite the progression element, winning is still the target.
The Bajan added: “When you give people opportunities, you still want them to go and produce. That’s where the pride comes in. You give them opportunities, they go and do well and you feel justified.
“You still have to go and earn that opportunity.
“We’re not just going to go out and hand somebody a cap because just to say, ‘I’ve given them a cap’. You want them to perform really well.
“We’re missing Jordan, Mala and Lythy, so the nucleus of our T20 team is there. A lot of these guys have played a lot of cricket.
“We say development, and that’s also developing winning habits.
“I think if we play really well, we could get to the final. We go into every competition with an attitude of wanting to win it.
“For some of those young guys to go and play at the Oval, it will be fantastic.”
