Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Lauren Winfield-Hill celebrates April’s victory against The Blaze at Headingley in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup with coach Rich Pyrah.
Challenging for silverware is certainly on Yorkshire’s mind ahead of 2027 after getting themselves set in Tier 1 throughout the women’s summer, which has just finished.
In a couple of debrief interviews over the last week, captain Lauren Winfield-Hill and head coach Rich Pyrah, both of whom are heading to Australia for respective domestic commitments, have both talked about loftier goals next year.
This year, they have regularly pushed the view of progression and performance over results, understandably so given the White Rose were a year behind their rivals.
No doubt, Winfield-Hill is more bullish and Pyrah cautious with his optimism. But they are both determined that next year is going to be different whilst still having the acceptance that a lot of work remains and they will continue to be seen as underdogs.
Captain Winfield-Hill said: “I think we’ve been the nearly girls. But that’s just where we’re at.
“We’ve been competitive, and we’ve played some really good cricket.
“I’ve sort of explained it as, I feel like we’re 80 percent really good, but the 20 percent is a pretty slippery slope quite quickly.
“A lot of games have slipped from our grasp in the last five overs.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Jess Jonassen was Yorkshire’s standout player in 2026.
“But if you take the lens out a little bit beyond that, there’s still a lot of good things in patches.
“We’ll be better for it.
“We’re obviously bolstering the squad for next year. Someone like Em Arlott is a huge, huge addition for us.
“Next year, we need to perform.
“And I think we need to really meet that head on.
“Sometimes I struggle with the language a bit. This year has almost felt like a free pass for being average at times. Next year, it’s not.
“We’ve got to use what we’ve learnt this year.
“Next year is about performing and being competitive.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Sterre Kalis and Lauren Winfield-Hill celebrate victory over Somerset at Headingley in the Vitality Blast in July. They shared a brilliant fourth-wicket partnership of 167, the highest fourth-wicket partnership in the history of women’s T20 cricket.
“I’m not here just to tick boxes and keep turning up to play for the sake of playing. I’m a competitor, I want to win.
“We need to change the language in terms of ourselves, and it’s about being competitive.
“We should be looking at someone like Durham. It’s taken them a couple of years to rise to the top, and they reached their first Finals Day (Vitality Blast finalists).
“That’s got to be the aim. Once you get there, it’s anybody’s for the taking.
“I think the girls have got to be in Finals Day in at least one of the competitions.”
Yorkshire won three of 16 games in the 50-over Metro Bank One-Day Cup, finishing second-from-bottom in the table. As part of that, they beat defending champions Lancashire and The Blaze, who went on to complete the domestic treble.
They won three of 12 matches in the Vitality Blast, finishing seventh out of nine teams. They won three of 12 games, enjoying their best period of the season through July when they won three of their last four games in that competition.
The White Rose were knocked out in the third round of the Vitality County T20 Cup.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Off-spinner Claudie Cooper enjoyed a progressive summer.
Pyrah said: “Some really good stuff, some frustrating stuff, and a lot of learnings.
“We knew this first year in Tier 1 was going to be a challenge for a number of reasons.
“Starting a new team two years ago, competing against squads that have been together for a number of years.
“We’re very much at the start of the growth, and it’s going to take time.
“The pleasing thing for me was we competed in nearly every game. We know we are lacking a little bit of quality and a lot of depth compared to the rest.
“Frustrating to lose a lot of close games, but that’s where the learning has got to come from.
“Also, the lack of depth that we’ve got, especially in the batting department, cost us in a few of those close games.
“Overall, I’m trying not to get too caught up in the results side at this stage.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Head coach Rich Pyrah has just ended his second year in charge of Yorkshire’s women.
“Next year, we’ll be pushing more for results and going on to win games.
“First year at the level, we’ve taken this time to give everyone opportunities, try and find out which players we want to invest time in and who we think has a long future at this level.
“There’s been a lot of, ‘We’ve got to give opportunities and find out’.
“Now is the time where we need to start kicking on. We know that.
“That’s not to say we’re going to go and jump right to competing at the top, but we want to see progression.
“We have done with certain areas of our game and some individuals as well. It’s time for them to start trying to win those close games.
“This year, we’ve lost five or six really tight games.
“If you go and win four or five of them, we’re up to mid-table, which would have been an unbelievable season for our first year.
Picture by Gareth Copley/Getty Images. England all-rounder Em Arlott is joining Yorkshire from Warwickshire this winter.
“A lot to learn, but it’s gone exactly how we thought it would go.
“We’re still building the infrastructure and the coaching team around it. We’re bringing in another coach next year, and it’s just about growth in all areas of the women’s game for Yorkshire.”
Make no mistake, though, as much as Pyrah knows there is still work to do, he is desperate for success.
“The main aim is to win trophies for Yorkshire,” he added.
“We’re not there yet. If we keep seeing the growth, then in a couple of years there’s no reason why we can’t be competing for silverware.
“I want to see improvements from every individual next season. I want us to see us managing games better.
“It might seem frustrating at times, losing games. But we were never going to go straight into the top tier against these experienced teams who have been around for years and compete at the top straightaway.
“I’m genuinely excited about what the future holds. A couple more years of development for the youngsters, bring one or two more in, and the future’s bright.”
