Adam Lyth is closing in on a bit of Yorkshire history.
Lyth heads into tomorrow’s Vitality Blast clash with Derbyshire at Chesterfield (2.30pm) needing 21 runs to become the club’s highest ever T20 run-scorer.
Lyth currently sits on 2,240 runs from 101 appearances, with his coach Andrew Gale scoring 2,260 during a career which came to a close in 2015.
The left-hander was hoping to achieve the feat last night, but the opening night clash with Nottinghamshire at Emerald Headingley was rained off without a ball bowled.
Both Lyth and Gale have prospered at the top of the order for the Vikings, with the former still going strong.
“It would be proud moment to get there,” said the 31-year-old.
“I didn’t actually know that was the case, but it would be nice to be leading the way for the club with runs in T20.
“It’s not just about the 20 runs, though. I want to score a lot more not just this year but in the years to come.
“I won’t really be thinking about the record, I’ll be thinking about getting the boys off to a quick start. Hopefully myself, Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Dave Willey, the top three, can do as well as we have done for the last few years.”
Lyth has played 101 of his 103 career T20 appearances for Yorkshire – he played briefly for the Rangpur Riders in the Bangladesh Premier League the winter before last – and has scored 11 fifties and one hundred.
Other T20 records he holds include Yorkshire’s highest individual score (161 v Northamptonshire at Headingley in 2017) and the club’s most runs in a season (535 in 2017).
“I’m really pleased the way T20, and 50 overs, has gone for me,” he said, having debuted in 2008.
“The 50-over game was actually quite lean for me this year, and I was disappointed with that. But hopefully I can get off to a good start in this campaign.
“It’s a really exciting time of the year.
“All technical stuff goes out of the window to a degree, and you just concentrate on seeing the ball and hitting the ball, which really works for me.
“The game’s changed massively. When I first came around, 120 and 130 you could defend that. Now, that’s getting knocked off in 10-12 overs.
“Pitches have got a lot to do with it.
“Everyone’s playing all around the world now in the various competitions. Lads do a lot of hard work practicing, and the way they hit the ball now is incredible.
“I was lucky enough to go in the T10 in the winter, and someone like Nicholas (Pooran) played against us. The way those boys hit it is incredible.”
Since the start of T20 in 2003, Yorkshire have only made Finals Day twice, the final once and have never won the competition, something which Lyth knows must be rectified.
“I don’t think it’s good enough,” he added. “This time around our chances are very high. But it’s alright saying that, we have to go and do it out there.”