“You can play as much second-team cricket as you want,” said Rich Pyrah. “But the development stops until you start to play in the first team.”
It is clear that the next month is a hugely important one in Yorkshire’s short to medium-term future.
Assistant and bowling coach Pyrah is leading a much changed Vikings team in the Royal London one-day Cup, starting against Surrey at Scarborough tomorrow (11am).
Ten senior White Rose players are unavailable due to their commitments in the Hundred, as is head coach Andrew Gale for the same reason.
That opens the door for young players to shine.
Will Luxton, Matthew Revis and Jack Shutt are the prime examples of highly rated players who will get the chance to press their claims at various stages between now and, hopefully, August 19 – the date of the Trent Bridge final.
Those three all played in yesterday’s friendly win against Northumberland at North Marine Road and are yet to make a competitive first-team appearance in 2021.
Tall batsman Luxton, 18 and from Skipton, is yet to debut in the first team.
Even experiences for more senior heads are important.
Dom Bess will captain a team at first-team level for the first time, while seamer Ben Coad has only played 17 times in List A cricket despite being a regular in the Championship.
Will Fraine, a centurion against Northumberland, has only ever played four List A games.
“You can feel the excitement with the younger players,” said Pyrah.
“Can we find another superstar for Yorkshire?
“During this comp, can one of these young lads stand up and put their name forward and give us another option for T20 cricket, or another option for Championship cricket?”
All counties have been affected by Hundred call-ups to varying degrees.
Surrey, like Yorkshire, have 10 players unavailable to them.
Though South African batsman Hashim Amla is available as their overseas player, just as Duanne Olivier and Mat Pillans are for Yorkshire.
