You can take the boy out of Yorkshire, but you can’t take Yorkshire out of the boy.
Listening to John Sadler, the county’s new men’s batting coach, talk about his return to Headingley this winter and it’s a cliche which springs immediately to mind.
Sadler, 43, is back in Yorkshire colours for the first time in more than two decades. He came through the county’s pathway and is a product of the famous Academy. However, he never made a competitive first-team appearance and moved to pastures new to forge a trophy-winning county career.
A two-time Vitality Blast winner with Leicestershire in 2004 and 2006, he also played for Derbyshire before a most recent spell as head coach with Northamptonshire, which concluded last season.
But the ex-batter has never forgotten his roots and admits that returning home to where it all began, to help progress the current crop of talent has been “quite humbling”.
Dewsbury-born and Ossett-based, Sadler said: “I’ve loved my time so far.
Picture by YCCC. New men’s batting coach John Sadler.
“It’s really felt like a welcome home – a welcome back.
“There’s been some friendly faces and people I’ve known for a long time, and the new guys as well. They’ve all been really warm, and I’m incredibly proud to be back.
“It’s quite humbling actually.
“It’s 22 years since I last wore the white rose on my chest. I was speaking to Rich Pyrah and Chris Brice on my first day back in, and I said, ‘Lads, it’s been 22 years since I last put this badge on’.
“And they actually took a photo of me putting my kit on. It was a really nice moment.
“I’ve been around a few different clubs, but I’ve always been a Yorkshire fan. It’s in your soul this club, in your blood. Don’t ever underestimate that emotional connection with your home club. It’s very, very powerful.
Picture by Ben Duffy/SWpix.com. John Sadler came through the Yorkshire age-groups and Academy.
“I actually think that’s helped with the settling in process. There’s an immediate connection with the lads because I’ve done the same thing as a lot of them have – come through the pathway system.
“Headingley was always the first fixture I’d look for in the schedule when it came out.
“It’s not just me, it’s my family and friends as well. I’m in Ossett, and I’ve never left.
“I didn’t actually realise how strong the connection was until I put the badge back on.”
Sadler started work at Headingley in November and continued: “There’s some incredible talent here, ranging from the very best in the world with Brooky, Rooty, Jonny and Mala right at the top to the young lads coming through. And there’s a lot in between.
“There’s always a lot of talent coming through at Yorkshire, but to get to that next level you’ve got to have the right attitude as well as the skill level.
Picture by Stu Forster/Getty Images. Joe Root and Harry Brook are just two of Yorkshire’s England batting stars who John Sadler will work with at Headingley.
“Certainly from my time here so far, it looks like they’ve all got that.”
And Sadler, who scored almost 6,000 runs in senior county cricket in the early 2000s, added: “Yorkshire have had some success recently, and it’s an exciting time.
“Anything’s possible for us.
“There’s already an incredibly strong competition for places, and I think we can challenge in all three formats. The first division is where Yorkshire belong, so we’re not just here to be involved in it and make the numbers up.”
