Andrew Gale remains hopeful Yorkshire can recover from back-to-back defeats to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Vitality Blast.
The Vikings coach knows there is absolutely no margin for error between now and Sunday.
“We have three games left, and we have to win three out of three. Simple as that,” he said ahead of games against Durham, Lancashire and Derbyshire.
A top two finish in the North Group guarantees qualification, while the two best third-placed finishers from the North, Central and South Groups also advance.
Yorkshire are currently fourth in the North with six points from seven games following defeats to Leicestershire and Lancashire on Friday and last night.
They are four points behind second placed Lancashire with a better net run-rate, the first separator for teams finishing level on points.
At present, the third-placed teams in the Central and South – Birmingham and Sussex – both have nine points.
Yorkshire face Durham at Emerald Headingley tomorrow (6.30pm), when they hope to be boosted by the return of Matthew Fisher, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Josh Poysden and captain David Willey, who all missed the Roses clash in accordance with Coronavirus guidelines.
The club are still waiting on a test result before confirming their availability.
“Over the last few years, we’ve been win one, lose one,” said Gale.
“But, given the players we’ll have – we might have a few more England players at the back end of the week as well, I’m still confident as coach that we can get on a run.
“I feel we have played some really good T20 cricket this year. Look at the batting, we’ve made 190 and over a number of times.
“We’re lacking a bit of experience with the ball. We know that. We have to be a bit more savvy. We have to perform our skill and plans better in pressure situations.
“I feel like we’ve played to 90 percent of our ability and lost a couple of close games.”
As Gale mentions, Yorkshire may also be boosted by the return of Adil Rashid and Joe Root from England duty for Thursday’s return Roses clash at Emirates Old Trafford and Sunday’s final group game against Derbyshire at Emerald Headingley – a designated Derby home game.
They have requested their availability following tomorrow’s ODI decider against Australia at Old Trafford.
One player who has been released early from England duty is Dawid Malan, the newly crowned number one T20 batsman in the world, according to ICC rankings.
Malan was a reserve for England’s ODI squad, but he returned to county action last night with 27 batting at number three against the Lightning.
He will now be available for the rest of the county season, which will hopefully finish with a Finals Day appearance on October 3.
