Yorkshire coach Ottis Gibson has been reflecting on his side’s first LV= Insurance County Championship defeat of the season, against Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl.
Gibson pointed to some key periods in the game which swung it Hampshire’s way by two wickets, though admitted: “I’m proud of the way we fought.”
Hampshire chased down 197 with 13.4 overs to spare, with Liam Dawson’s 67 off 68 balls the key innings after two wickets apiece for Jordan Thompson, Steve Patterson and Dom Bess.
Yorkshire drop to fourth in Division One after a first defeat added to five draws and a win. They sit on 96 points, 31 adrift of leaders Surrey.
“I’m disappointed for the lads in the dressing room,” said Gibson.
“We came this morning and knew we had to bat well to get back into the game. They bowled well – they have a good quality attack – and we lost wickets.
“Every game we’ve played has gone to 5.30pm on the last day. We’ve had a lot of draws, so I’m disappointed we weren’t able to win this.
“There are small margins in the game all the time. When we had them eight down for 330 in their first innings, that’s a turning point.
“We again missed a couple of chances which has plagued us all year. Again, you could say that’s cost us.
“It was also a telling moment when Barker and Abbott bowled 11 or 12 overs on the bounce yesterday afternoon from both ends.
“190 is always in the batting side’s favour, so we had to work hard on a good pitch. Dom Bess bowled nicely, Jordan lovely. Like I said, I can’t fault the effort.”
Gibson continued: “When you lose you’re disappointed, but at the same time you have to look at the bigger picture. The experience guys like Revis are getting at the moment, I feel like there’s lots to be optimistic about going forward.”
“Credit to them, they played really well. Experience told.”
Yorkshire’s standout performance in the match was George Hill’s 131 in a first-innings 428 all out: “To make a hundred against that quality bowling line-up was exceptional. He played really well.”
Yorkshire’s next Championship match is against Surrey at Scarborough on July 11, following the culmination of the Vitality Blast group stages and quarter-finals.
“We have a break now until July, and we’ll see what we need going forward in terms of overseas help or whatever,” said Gibson. “We’ll see if we can get some firepower in the bowling line-up.
“To think that the inexperience has taken us so far, it’s a great effort.
“There’s no panic stations. That’s the first game we’ve lost in seven, and we could have won three.
“I just want my young guys to keep learning. If we continue to grow and we find ourselves in situations like this again, we’ll make better decisions and affect the outcome of games more.
“This is a massive learning curve for everyone, including myself – it’s my first time coaching in county cricket. But we’re all learning together.
“We’re still confident we can play some good cricket in the County Championship, and we feel we’re good enough to be in the conversation when September 29 comes.”
On the possibility of overseas help, like assistant coach Ali Maiden did at close on day three, Gibson praised the contribution of fellow West Indian Dominic Drakes, who finished his five-game Blast and Championship spell with the county today.
“Dom has been fantastic for us. He did really well in the T20s as well,” he said. “If any opportunity arises where we can have him back, he’s fitted in nicely.”
Gibson is also hoping to have injured seamer Ben Coad available later in the season: “He would be like a new player for us and would be key for us if he was fit now.”
Meanwhile, Shadab Khan flies in from Pakistan tomorrow and should be ready to go for Friday’s Blast clash at Durham, while Finn Allen has recovered from Covid.
