Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. James Wharton celebrates his half-century against Worcestershire Rapids at Headingley last Friday.
James Wharton sees no reason why Yorkshire cannot flip the form table in this season’s Vitality Blast and extend a recent good record against arch-rivals Lancashire Lightning at Emirates Old Trafford tomorrow (7pm).
Yorkshire’s players and coaches haven’t hidden from the fact that this season’s North Group campaign hasn’t gone to plan, the county sitting second-bottom in the table with three wins from their opening 10 matches.
Qualification for the quarter-finals looks a stiff task, but it’s not yet a mathematically impossible one with four games remaining.
And with two of those fixtures coming against the Red Rose county, Yorkshire still have plenty to achieve.
That includes winning a third straight game against the Lightning, excluding rained-off fixtures. The White Rose have won in each of the last two seasons at Headingley, though the last two clashes in Manchester have been washed out in 2023 and 2024.
Yorkshire make the journey across the Pennines to face a Lancashire side who sit second in the North Group table with seven wins from 10 outings to date, including winning four of their last five games. They were beaten by the Bears at Edgbaston last night, failing to chase down a 204-target. With that, Durham went top. Both teams have 28 points and are separated only be net run-rate.
“This is the biggest fixture of the year in T20, both at our place and theirs,” said in-form batter Wharton, who alongside captain Dawid has topped 300 runs for the campaign.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Jordan Thompson celebrates dismissing Lancashire Lightning’s Chris Green during last season’s Roses Blast victory at Headingley.
“It doesn’t matter about form going into it. It’s about whoever turns up on the night.
“I’ve never played in a Roses game before (in front of a crowd – he debuted at Headingley in the behind closed doors Covid season of 2020). I’ve always missed the cut. It will be a first for me.
“The last two times we’ve been to Old Trafford, they’ve been rained off. The last two games at Headingley, I didn’t get picked.
“It’s definitely a bucket list game, especially playing in front of a packed crowd at Headingley. But hopefully we can beat them over there and then come back to our place and do the same next week.”
In front of the Sky Sports cameras, this game will have an international feel to it.
Pakistan overseas batter Abdullah Shafique – in place of the now departed Will O’Rourke – will debut for a Yorkshire side including internationals Jonny Bairstow, Malan, Will Sutherland, Dom Bess and potentially Adam Lyth should he recover from a recent calf injury.
Lancashire have the likes of Sir James Anderson, Jos Buttler, Phil Salt, Ashton Turner, Chris Green, Luke Wood at their disposal. Liam Livingstone and Saqib Mahmood are currently sidelined because of injuries.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Abdullah Shafique made his Yorkshire debut in the Championship win over Essex at York. Tomorrow, he will make his Blast debut for the White Rose.
“These are the games you want to be playing in,” said Wharton. “You want to be playing against the best players in the world, and they have a fair few of them. But so do we.
“We have Jonny, who is one of the greatest all-format players England have ever had, and Mala. His white-ball record in international cricket is ridiculous.
“They’ll be looking at our team and thinking the exact same, I’m sure. It will be exciting.
Wharton, 24, is enjoying his best Blast campaign to date having scored 312 runs from 10 matches, including two fifties. The most recent of those was a fine 88 in victory over Worcestershire Rapids at Headingley on Friday
He also scored 33 in Sunday’s defeat against Derbyshire Falcons at Chesterfield.
Yorkshire’s number four said: “It’s changed a little bit this year.
“I was used to batting up at three, getting into the powerplay and getting off to a bit of a flyer. It’s definitely been a bit different coming in when the field’s out and often starting against spin.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Yorkshire captain Dawid Malan will lead his side in front of the Sky Sports cameras in Manchester.
“It’s different, but it’s exciting as well because it’s going to hopefully make me a better player.
“I’m really enjoying it.”
Yorkshire could field almost a handful of players who have never played in a Roses game tomorrow, including overseas duo Shafique and Will Sutherland.
Another who hasn’t is seam-bowling all-rounder Matt Milnes.
In the last two games, Milnes’s own fortunes have demonstrated the fickle nature of T20 cricket.
On Friday, against Worcestershire, he bowled a fabulous wicket maiden in the 17th over, removing Gareth Roderick, as the visitors failed to chase a 234-target.
On Sunday, against Derbyshire, he was one of the victims of Aneurin Donald’s early assault and went for 46 in three overs.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Matt Milnes is congratulated after dismissing Worcestershire Rapids’ Gareth Roderick during his wicket maiden last Friday.
Largely speaking, however, it has been an extremely encouraging first Blast campaign in Yorkshire colours for Milnes following his well-documented battle with back stress fractures over the last two years.
He has taken eight wickets in six Blast games with his seamers, including a best of 3-23, and has only failed to strike in one match.
“I’ve been a bit frustrated at missing out a couple of times, but that happens,” he said. “But I’ve felt good all year, and in good rhythm. Long may it continue.
“The plan was to make the first half of the year a little bit easier in terms of getting my overs in in second team cricket and getting my body – post-surgery – back to a place where I’m confident.
“I’m certainly getting there now. Hopefully I can push on in the next few games. Then, obviously the red-ball stuff comes around at the end of July. I’d love to be able to play a part in that.”
Earlier in the summer, batter Noah Kelly spoke in his blog for this website about Milnes’s progression and how he had got a real zip back in his bowling.
Milnes continued: “That’s how it feels. I made a little change pre-season with Mick Lewis. He identified something, and I feel like it’s helped me get that little bit of zip back and almost get a little bit more behind the ball and hit the gloves a bit harder.”
Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWPix.com. Former England white-ball captain Jos Buttler will line up for Lancashire tomorrow.
On that wicket maiden against Worcester, he reflected: “It doesn’t happen very often that you get a wicket maiden in the 17th over of a T20!
“They had a bit of momentum at that stage, so it came at quite an important time for us.
“What we had said as they started to get that momentum, ‘Just stick to our plans and have clarity’. I knew that over, with the wind going that way and them hitting to the shorter side, it was important to hit the wide line more times than not. Thankfully I did that.”
Lancashire, with one foot in the quarter-finals already, have used this competition to kick-start their season following some early troubles in Division Two of the Championship.
Opening batter Keaton Jennings stepped down as Championship captain but continues to lead them in this format. Steven Croft is interim head coach following the departure of Dale Benkenstein in late May.
On the prospect of bowling to the likes of ex-England white ball captain Jos Buttler, Milnes added: “You don’t get a chance to bowl at those guys very often, so it’s a really nice opportunity to test yourself.
“And I’ve heard it’s pretty hostile over the Pennines, so it’ll be good fun.”
