Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Captain Dom Bess and coach Anthony McGrath have led Yorkshire to within a win of the knockouts in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup.
Anthony McGrath has praised the character of his players having responded strongly to last month’s hammer blow of a T20 quarter-final defeat to Somerset with some strong performances in the ongoing Metro Bank One-Day Cup, all but qualifying them for the knockout stages.
Somerset snatched a Vitality Blast victory from the jaws of defeat, hauling in a 162-target having been 80-8 in the 15th over. Craig Overton dragged his side over the line with an incredible 79 not out off 30 balls.
It was the kind of defeat which could have had a lasting effect, a fear heightened when the White Rose lost their opening 50-over match to Hampshire at Scarborough.
But, under Dom Bess’s leadership as captain, the county won five of their next six matches to haul themselves to a position where it would take a miracle to see them miss out on the top three places.
A win against already-eliminated Essex at the Ambassador Cruise Line Ground, Chelmsford – 11am start – will seal it. But their superior net run-rate means that a defeat almost certainly will not damage them.
Still, they are likely to have to win to secure a home quarter-final on Friday.
The exact scenario in Group B sees Middlesex top on 24 points and all but assured of a home semi-final on Sunday given their overwhelmingly superior net run-rate.
Picture by Bruce Rollinson/SWPix.com. A superb Sam Whiteman 97 helped Yorkshire beat Derbyshire at Scarborough on Friday, chasing down a 279-target having been 57-3.
Yorkshire are second on 20 points, followed by Durham on 20 points.
Just outside the knockout places sit Hampshire and Worcestershire on 16. Those two have a significantly inferior net run-rate to both Yorkshire and Durham.
Durham and Worcestershire play each other at New Road on Tuesday.
As things stand, it would be a Yorkshire v Lancashire quarter-final on Friday.
“The lads have driven it,” said head coach McGrath, of the aforementioned response.
“They all got together without the coaches and spoke about wanting to front up, own up and have a really good run in this competition.
“What’s gone is gone. From that conversation, they’ve responded really well because they wanted to make a real impact.”
Picture by Bruce Rollinson/SWPix.com. Ben Cliff has been outstanding in this season’s One-Day Cup, claiming a competition-high 18 wickets.
Reflecting on the feelings after that Somerset loss, McGrath continued: “I must admit, I woke up the next day thinking it was a bad dream.
“It was probably a one-in-100 result, maybe a one-in-500.
“All you can do is use it as fuel for the rest of the season and going forwards, and that’s what the lads are trying to do. We’ve also got to remember what we’ve done well so far and, if we ever find ourselves in that position again, you’d like to think that we can defend 70 off four overs.
“For the lads, the One-Day Cup is another great opportunity.
“We’re not going to win every game, but we’ve set our standards in how we start games and how we go about things, and overall we’ve done that well.
“We’re not just winning on certain types of surfaces either. We’re winning in different ways, and that’s one of the biggest improvements I’ve seen in our white-ball cricket this year.
“Hopefully that’s a stepping stone to becoming a really good team.”
Picture by Stu Forster/Getty Images. Essex director of cricket Chris Silverwood is currently part of the Manchester SuperGiants backroom staff in The Hundred.
Yorkshire face an Essex side who are out of contention for the knockouts, losing their fourth game in seven against Durham at Darlington. They failed to chase 230 in the 34-overs per side game.
Captained by former England batter Tom Westley, they have also been fielding South African off-spinner Simon Harmer as their overseas player.
“I don’t want to get into football clichés about going in the right direction and things like that,” added McGrath, who returns to the county he coached so successfully before returning to Yorkshire ahead of last season.
“Until you get silverware, it’s hard to say we’re a good team.
“But you can see how we’re playing at the minute.
“The lads are getting great confidence, and we’re beating good teams.”
ESSEX v YORKSHIRE, LIST A CRICKET 1969-2024 – STAT PACK
Results (home and away): Played 51; Yorkshire won 25, Essex won 26, No Result 0; (Abandoned 3).
At Chelmsford: Yorkshire won 8, Essex won 11.
Most recent results: 2024 – Yorkshire won by 3 wickets at Scarborough; 2023 – Yorkshire won by 5 wickets at Chelmsford; 2022 – Essex won by 88 runs (D/L/S) at Chelmsford.
Most successive wins: Yorkshire 4 (1995-1998), Essex 5 (2003-2009)
Highest innings totals: For Yorkshire 307-3 (60 overs) at Chelmsford in 1995. For Essex, 317-7 (50 overs) at Chelmsford in 2021.
Lowest innings totals: For Yorkshire 54 (20.2/45 overs) at Headingley in 2003. For Essex, 108 (37.3/40 overs) at Headingley in 1996.
Highest individual score: For Yorkshire 125* by AW Gale at Chelmsford in 2010. For Essex, 136* by N Hussain at Chelmsford in 2002.
Highest partnerships: For Yorkshire 233* for the first wicket between AW Gale (125*) and JA Rudolph (101*) at Chelmsford in 2010. For Essex, 209 for the fifth wicket between T Westley (111*) and RN ten Doeschate (119) at Scarborough in 2014.
Best bowling figures: For Yorkshire 5-37 (7.4 overs) by DM Bess at Chelmsford in 2023. For Essex, 6-18 (8 overs) by RE East at Hull in 1969.
Hat-tricks: None by either county in this series.
Most dismissals in an innings by a wicketkeeper: For Yorkshire 4 (4 ct) by DL Bairstow at Hull in 1977, at Chelmsford in 1979 and Headingley in 1984. For Essex, 4 (4 ct) by MA Garnham at Chelmsford in 1991, by JS Foster at Headingley in 2003 and 4 (3 ct, 1 st) at Headingley in 2010.
Most catches in an innings by a fielder: For Essex 3 by N Hussain at Middlesbrough in 1990 and by NS Niijar at Chelmsford in 2015. No Yorkshire fielder has taken more than two catches in an innings in this series.
A half-century and four wickets in a match: No instance for either county in this series.
At Chelmsford:
Highest innings totals: Yorkshire 307-3 (60 Overs) in 1995, Essex 317-7 (50 overs) in 2021;
Lowest innings totals: Yorkshire 149-8 (40 overs) in 1991, Essex 192 (46.5/50 overs) in 1993;
Highest individual innings: For Yorkshire 125* by AW Gale in 2010. For Essex, 136* by N Hussain in 2002.
Best bowling figures (innings): For Yorkshire 5-37 (7.4 overs) by DM Bess in 2023. For Essex, 5-32 (10 overs) by PM Such in 1993.
Compiled by Paul Dyson, Peter Horne and Martyn Webster – members of the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians.
