Picture by John Heald. Yorkshire’s players celebration last month’s season-ending win over Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.
Anthony McGrath believes Yorkshire’s season-ending one-wicket win over Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge could prove crucial to his squad’s development.
The White Rose just got over the line on day three, a couple of Saturday’s ago, as they chased 158.
Captain Jonny Bairstow hit a match-winning six as part of an unbeaten 38.
Opener Will Luxton’s excellent 53 on a tricky pitch for batting was also crucial.
Yorkshire ended the summer with three successive wins in the Rothesay County Championship to finish fifth with six victories in all. Compared to 2025, they were two places and two wins better off.
“As we’d said in the last block, ‘We did not just want this to peter out’,” said head coach McGrath.
“We kept going back to it being about the bigger picture, next season and momentum.
“Coming up against teams who we are going to play next year who have been better than us, we wanted to show that we can compete.
“We’ve had some very low moments this year in big games in terms of T20s, quarter-finals of the 50-overs and down at the Oval (against Surrey, one-wicket Championship defeat).
“To win those big moments, you do need a bit of luck. But it’s also a skill and a learned behaviour.
“The more we go through that and win those big moments, that’s what you need to win trophies.”
The celebrations of the Yorkshire players upon sealing the win at Trent Bridge were noticeably loud.
“I’m glad the lads celebrated like that because it just shows what it means to them,” said McGrath. “To win three in a row, four out of the last six, I think it’s been a very, very good end to the season.
“We’re not the finished article, but I think you can see the improvement and what we’re trying to do.
“For the last two years, it’s about belief. I think you can see that coming out in the players. People are putting their hands up in key moments.
“We know in this format in Division One, it goes up and down and it’s topsy-turvy for four days. When you do get the chance, you’ve got to try and strike.
“We’ve certainly shown we can do that more consistently than last year.
“It’s going to be a long six months before we play again, but there’s certainly a lot we can take from the back end of this year.
“We’ve had to go through a few ups and downs – quite a few lows.
“To get those rewards at the end, it’s not ended in a trophy. But, as a group, we’re really pleased with how we finished.
“Once survival was assured and you can’t win the title, sometimes you just go through the motions and peter out, ‘Oh, we’ll do it next season’.
“But the celebrations (at Trent Bridge) and what it meant, to me that shows a lot.”
